144 VULTURES 



the roads, gathering the weed seeds by the way. From their quick 

 motions and constant haste one might think they were catching 

 fleeing grasshoppers rather than stationary seeds. They go patter- 

 ing about, bobbing tiieir heads and keeping up a rapid, hard little 

 cooing that has scarcely a suggestion of the soft dove tones. In the 

 breeding season this is the first thing heard in the morning, and it 

 is kept up well into the glowing heat of the day, usually given 

 from the ground, but sometimes from the branches of trees. 



Vernon Bailey. 



ORDER RAPTORES: BIRDS OF PREY. 



(Families Cathaktid^, Falconid^, Stkigid7i<], Bubonid^e.) 



FAMILY CATHARTIDiE: VULTURES. 



KEY TO GENERA 



1. Wing 30 or more Gymnogyps, p. 144. 



]'. Wing- less than 25. 



2. Head red Catliartes, p. 145. 



2'. Head black Catharista, p. 146. 



GENUS GYMNOGYPS. 



324. Gymnogyps calif or nianus (Shaw). California Vul- 

 ture : Condor. 



Wing ;{(> or more ; head and entire neck bare, skin smooth ; plumage of 

 under parts lanceolate or pencillate ; head much elongated, forehead flat- 

 tened ; nostril small, its anterior end acute ; bill small, mandibles broader 

 than deep ; wings folding to or beyond end of square tail. Adults : head 

 and neck bare, yellow, or orange in life ; bill whitish or pale yellowish ; 

 plumage sooty blackish ; outer webs of greater Aving ct)verts and second- 

 aries grayish, wing coverts tipped with white and outer secondaries edged 

 with white ; axillars and under wing coverts pure white. Young : like 

 adults, but neck more or less covered with sooty grayish down, bill and 

 naked skin blackish ; brown edgings of feathers of upper parts producing 

 a .scaled effect ; white of under wings and gray webbing of coverts and 

 secondaries wanting. Length: 44-");), extent S,! to nearly 11 feet; weight 

 20-25 pounds, wing ;{()-:>"), tail 15-18, bill 1.50. 



Remarks. — The vulture can be distinguished in the field by its great 

 size and its white under wing coverts. 



Distribution. — Coast ranges of southern California from Monterey Bay 

 south to Lower California, and east to Arizona. 



Nest. — A cavity or recess among rocks, or hollow in a stump, log, or 

 tree trimk. Eggs : 1 or 2, plain grayish green, or greenish white. 



Food. — Carrion. 



To come upon the ('alifornia vulture alive and free is like sud- 

 denly coming to a ^iant sequoia towering above the forest. The 

 sequoia awes you with the feeling of Immensity, and the forest 



