The Plague Doctor (i.e. the mournful vulture)

Every year before Lent there is huge carnival in Venice that lasts two weeks. People dress up in costume, don masks and revel in San Marco Square among other locales. I've noticed many shops selling these masks. A popular theme is the "plague doctor" mask. During the plague, people posing as doctors (the real doctors fled) would wear masks with a bird-like beak stuffed with spices and herbs and visit patients stricken with the plague. The whole look, from mask to rubber boots, was creepy! Look at the illustrations I found online:

Hmm...not very comforting.