:. CATHARTES C AL I F O UN I AN U S. 



shape and markings of the eggs of this species, if we credit the previous accounts 

 which have been given of the eggs of the California!! Vulture. These descriptions arc, 

 however, all traceable to one source, so far as I am aware. David Douglas, in the 

 Zoological Journal, speaks of the eggs of this Vulture as nearly spherical, jet-black, 

 and about the size of those of a Goose. Following this authority, all writers who 

 have referred to the eggs of the California!! Vulture have described them in a similar 

 manner. That they should be spherical would be an exceptional case to the whole 

 genus, and is therefore hardly probable, though by no means impossible. Markings 

 of a jet-black color, even to the extent of blotches, spots, or lines, are of very rare 

 occurrence, if not positively unknown. Nor am I aware that any of this family of 

 Vultures ever construct nests. For these reasons, and until the statements of Mr. 

 Douglas can be confirmed by other testimony, I am inclined to discredit his ac- 

 counts of its nest, eggs, and habits, in every respect. 1 In this unbelief I am in part 

 confirmed by the testimony of Mr. Townsend. He was informed, as he tells us, by 

 the Indians of the Columbia River, that the California!! Vulture, like all others of 

 its genus, breeds on the ground, fixing the place for a nest in swamps, under the 

 pine forests, chiefly in the alpine country, in this conforming with the habits of 

 the family. 



The egg in the Garden of Plants corresponds, in its generic characteristics, with 

 the eggs of the Cathartes aura, the C. atratus, and also with those of the jota and 

 brasiliensis of South America. It is also remarkably similar, except in size, to occa- 

 sional marked varieties of the egg of the Condor (Sarcoramphus gryphus), which, 

 however, is usually white and unspotted. I feel justified, therefore, in accepting the 

 drawing as an authentic representation of those of this species. 



This egg measured 3H inches in length by 211 in its greatest breadth. Its 

 ground color is that of all the known eggs of this genus, a rich cream-color, or a 

 yellowish-white. A ring of reddish-brown confluent blotches surrounds the larger 

 end, leaving the residue nearly free from markings. A few blotches of a smaller 

 size and lighter color are distributed over the whole surface. The faint purplish- 

 drab markings noticeable in the eggs of the preceding species are not observable 

 in this specimen. 



The Californian Vulture is confined to the western slope of the Eocky Mountains. 

 It is there found from the extreme southern portions of the Pacific coast of North 

 America to Washington Territory and the British possessions, where it abounds in 

 the summer season. It was met with by Mr. Townsend on the banks of the Colum- 

 bia, upwards of five hundred miles above the mouth of that river, throughout the 

 months of June, July, and August. 



1 " They build in the most secret and impenetrable parts of the pine forests, invariably selecting the 

 loftiest trees that overhang the precipices on the deepest and least accessible parts of the mountain val- 

 leys. The nest is large, composed of strong thorny twigs and grass, in eveiy way similar to the nests 

 of the Eagle tribe, but more slovenly constructed. The same pair resort for several years to the same 

 nest, bestowing little trouble or attention in repairing it. They lay two nearly jet-black eggs, about 

 the size of those of a Goose. They hatch generally about the 1st of June, and the period of incubation 

 is twenty-nine or thirty days." (David Douglas, Zoological Journal.) 



