TURKEY-BUZZARD. 43 



an easy prey, and, even during their repast, seem so employed as to 

 fear no danger. During a late journey to West Florida I made 

 many inquiries respecting this rare bird, but could only learn, that 

 they were occasionally seen near the sea-coast of the Gulf of 

 Mexico. 



TURKEY-BUZZARD. 



{Cathartes aura, Illig. Bonap. Vultur aura, Lin. and Lath. 

 Wilson. Am. Orn. Vol. ix. p. 95. pi. 75. f. 1.) 



Spec. Charact. — Blackish; neck feathered equally all round; 

 wings not extending beyond the tail, which is rounded ; the nos- 

 trils oval. — Young, dark brown ; with the wing-coverts and 

 secondaries somewhat spotted with white. 



This common Turkey-like Vulture is found abund- 

 antly in both North and South America, but seems 

 wholly to avoid the North-eastern or New England states, 

 a straggler being seldom seen as far as the latitude of 41 

 degrees. Whether this limit arises from some local an- 

 tipathy, their dislike of the cold eastern storms which 

 prevail in the spring till the time they usually breed, or 

 some other cause, it is not easily assignable ; and the fact 

 is still more remarkable, as they have been observed 

 in the interior, by Mr. Say, as far as Pembino in the 49th 

 degree of north latitude, and by Lewis and Clarke 

 near the Falls of the Columbia. They are, however, 

 much more abundant in the warmer than in the colder 

 regions ; and are found beyond the equator, even as far, 

 or farther than the La Plata. All the West India isl- 

 ands are inhabited by them, as well as the tropical con- 

 tinent, where, as in the Southern states of the Union, 

 they are commonly protected by law, for their services 

 as scavengers of carrion, which would prove highly dele- 

 terious in those warm and humid climates. In the win- 

 ter they generally seek out warmth and shelter, hovering 



