144 VULTURES 



the roads, gathering tlie 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 their 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 OP PREY. 



(Families Cathartid^, Falconid^, Strigid^, Bubonid.e.) 



FAMILY CATHARTIDiE: VULTURES. 



KEY TO GENERA 



1. Wmg- 30 or more Gymnogyps, p. 144. 



1'. Wing' less than 25. 



2. Head red Cathartes, p. 145. 



2'. Head black Catharista, p. 146. 



GENUS GYMNOGYPS. 



324. Gymnogyps calif ornianus (Shaw). California Vul- 

 ture : Condor. 



Wing 30 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 oi*ange in life ; bill whitish or pale yellowish ; 

 pbimage sooty blackish ; outer webs of greater wing coverts 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 uj)per parts producing 

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

 secondaries wanting. Length : 44-55, extent Si to nearly 11 feet ; Aveight 

 20-25 pounds, wing 30-35, tail 15-18, bill 1.50." 



Re7narks. — The vulture can be distinguished in the field by its great 

 size and its white under wing coverts. 



Distribution. — Coast ranges of southern Calif ornia 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 trunk. Eggs : 1 or 2, plain grayish gTeen, or greenish white. 



Food. — Carrion. 



To come upou the California vulture alive and free is like sud- 

 denly coming 'to a giant sequoia towering above the forest. The 

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



