l68 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



CATHARTES BURRO VIANUS BURROVIANUS Cassin: Yellow-headed 

 Vulture; Guala 



Figure 34 



Cathartes Burrovianus Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 2, no. 8, 

 1845, p. 212. (Near Veracruz Llave, Veracruz, Mexico.) 



In flight generally similar to the other turkey vulture, but near at 

 hand seen to have the bare skin of the side of the head bright orange, 

 becoming somewhat duller on neck ; crown bluish gray. 



Description. — Length 530 to 590 mm. General appearance like that 

 of the red-headed turkey vulture, but more brownish black on lower 

 surface; definitely smaller, and of lesser bulk; neck with numerous 

 small but prominent papillae, easily seen in fresh specimens, and 

 readily evident on close examination in dried skins. In life the ruff 

 on the neck comes higher on the back of the neck than in the red- 

 headed species, a distinction between the two that often is lost when 

 the birds are prepared as museum specimens, as the position of the 

 ruff may be shifted by stretching or contraction. 



In two young recently from the nest (collected near Sona) I found 

 that a few papillae had begun development. Now that these two have 

 been preserved as museum specimens the caruncles are seen best 

 under a lens. 



The following color notes were made from an adult female taken 

 at the Cienaga Macana, Herrera, March 17, 1948: Iris red; cere, 

 forepart of crown to center of eyes, nape, back of head, and throat, 

 dull orange-red; center of crown dull bluish gray; sides of head, 

 from posterior loral space back through the space around the eye 

 and the ear, including the area to below the gape, bright orange; 

 lores greenish yellow ; spot in front of eye and slightly above it dull 

 bluish gray; sides and front of neck, including the area covered by 

 papillae dull orange-red. Another taken at the same time had the 

 colors somewhat duller. An adult female, near breeding, shot March 

 24, 1961, at La Jagua, was more brilliantly colored, as indicated by 

 the following : Iris orange red ; center of crown indigo, in an irregular 

 triangle with the apex forward, bordered narrowly on either side by 

 pale greenish blue ; side of head down over the mandibular rami, and 

 including the loral area, bright orange; bare foreneck, including the 

 prominent caruncles, dull orange ; back of head dull blue, crossed by 3 

 irregular rows of caruncles which are dull orange; bill dull ivory 

 white; crus dull yellowish white; front of tarsus dull greenish gray; 

 rest dull white ; toes fuscous black ; claws fuscous. 



Measurements. — Males (6 from Panama, Colombia and north- 



