l66 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



CATHARTES AURA RUFICOLLIS Spix 



Cathartes ruficollis Spix, Avium Spec. Nov. Brasiliam, vol. 1, 1824, p. 2. (In- 

 terior of Baia and Piaui, Brazil.) 



Characters. — Borders of wing coverts very dark brown ; under sur- 

 face of body decidedly black; in life, head and neck dull red with 

 several transverse lines of greenish white or dull yellow on back of 

 head; adult usually with an irregular area of yellowish white in 

 center of crown. 



Adults shot in the latter part of March had the general color of 

 cere, head and upper part of the neck dull red ; 8 narrow, raised ridges 

 across the back of the head and upper hindneck pale bluish to pale 

 greenish white ; an irregular area in center of crown dull ivory white, 

 that in one bird measured 16 mm. wide ; tarsus dull grayish white, dull 

 red on front when first killed, but fading immediately until only a 

 faint reddish tinge remained ; toes dull brownish white ; claws black. 



Measurements. — Males (18 specimens), wing 476-508 (490), tail 

 235-265 (254), culmen from cere 21.9-24.3 (23.2), tarsus 60.0-64.9 

 (62.4) mm. 



Females (21 specimens), wing 475-509 (491), tail 235-264 (247), 

 culmen from cere 22.3-26.6 (23.7), tarsus 60.4-68.0 (63.8) mm. 



Resident throughout the republic from the Costa Rican border east- 

 ward to Colombia, 



Definite records of birds with the typical head marking are as fol- 

 lows: 



Chiriqui: Alanje, Boquete, San Felix, Remedios, Guabala. 



Veraguas : Puerto Vidal, Sona, lower course of Rio San Pablo. 



Code: El Valle. 



Canal Zone : Gamboa, Juan Mina. 



Panama : Rio La Jagua, Chepo, Chiman. 



Darien : mouth of Rio Tuquesa on the Rio Chucunaque, Boca de Paya, Jaque, 



Rio Jaque. 

 San Bias : Mandinga. 

 Isla Parida ; Isla Coiba ; Isla Taboga ; Isla San Jose. 



Turkey vultures (of any of the races) are not common in the 

 Archipielago de las Perlas. Murphy (Auk, 1945, p. 116) has reported 

 them at Isla Pacheca, and in addition to the record listed for Isla 

 San Jose I have seen them (without knowledge of the subspecies) on 

 Saboga, Chapera, Canas, Rey, Bayoneta, and Pedro Gonzalez. 



The identification of a turkey vulture collected May 12, 1944, on 

 Isla San Jose in the Pearl Islands as this subspecies (Wetmore, 



