658 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— EAPTOBES— CATHABTIDES. 



Analysis of (ieinra. 



Head and neck entirely naked; tail square Pseudogryphus 189 



Head and upper part of neck naked ; tail rounded Cathartes 190 



Head naked, but feathers running up to it behind; tail square Catharista 191 



189. Pseudogryphus. (Gr. ^.ibos, pseudos, ftilsi- j Lat. ffrtjphm, a griffin.) Californian 

 Condor. Size immense, about equalling that of the Condor. Head and neck entirely bare, 

 smooth, witliout caruncular appendages. No cervical rufi'of snowy, downy feathers; plumage 

 beginning over the shoulders 



with loose lance-linear feathers, 

 and that of the under parts 

 generally of similar character. 

 Frontal region depressed below 

 the level of the inflated cere, 

 but the general profile straight- 

 ish from the hook of the bill 

 to the hind head. Bill wide 

 and deep, comparatively little 

 hooked. Nasal passage much 

 more contracted than the nasal 

 fossa. Wings of great ampli- 

 tude, folding to or beyond the 

 end of the square tail, the ends 

 of the primaries uncovered by 

 the sec(radaries ; 4th or 5th 

 quills longest. Tarsus about 

 as long as middle toe. One 

 species. . 

 536. P. calif ornia'n us. (Of Cali- 

 fornia. Fig. 386.) Califor- 

 nian Condor. Adult $ 9: 

 Blackish, the feathers with 



browner tips or edges, quite ''^^%^^^SBB^^^^^^^ISH^^9^<!^ 

 gray or even whitish on the — ^^MI^^^^^^^^^^^^^^b* -^?^ 



wing-coverts and inner quills; 

 primaries and tail - feathers 

 black; axillars and lining of 

 wings white; bill yelWish, Fig. 386. -Cahfomian Condor. (From Tenney, after Audubon.) 



reddening on cere, and skin of the head orange or reddish ; iris said by some to be brown, by 

 otliers carmine. Length 4-4i feet ; extent about 9i feet ; wing 2i-3 feet ; tail Ih-U feet ; 

 tarsus 4.50-5.00 inches; middle toe without claw 4.00-4.50; middle claw 1.90; hind claw 

 1.50 ; chord of culmen without cere about 1.50, but whole biU about 4.00, whole head about 

 7.00 ; cere on top nearly 3.00. Young with the bill and naked parts dusky, and more or less 

 downy ; plumage without white. Nestlings covered with whitisfi down. Pacific coast region, 

 U. S. and southward, common. This great creature rivals the condor in size, and like it is 

 powerful enough to destroy young or otherwise helpless animals, though its usual food is carrion. 

 The nidification, as described, is like that of the turkey buzzard ; but the eggs are whitish, 

 unmarked. They measure about 4.50X2.50. The general habits appear to be the same as 

 those of the turkey buzzard : the flight is similar. 



190. CATHAR'TES. (Gr. KadapTrjs, Jcathartes, a purifier.) Turkey Buzzards. Of medium 

 size; body slender. Whole head and upper part of neck naked, the plumage beginning as a 



