82 



THE OOLOGIST 



said Reaser's Ciow, ifor that was the 

 mau's name to whom it belonged,) had 

 stolen the money and Hown away with 

 it So much for the Crow — but now 

 comes the fimuiest part of it. My 

 mother thought it was a queer story and, 

 when father came home, told him about 

 it. The next day he met the owner of 

 the Crow and jokingly told him about 

 it. It was perhaps a week later when 

 tlie man who owned the Crow stopped 

 my father on the street and saying he 

 liad something for liim handed him a 

 silver dolhir. 



The Crow had carried it two miles 

 acro.ss the fields to its home and had 

 ilropped it in a rain bariel that stood 

 near the house. Tiie man found it in 

 the morning when he. went to wash. 

 R. Paul Hughes, 



Lima, Ohio. 



Notes on Cathartes Aura. 



The Turkey Vulture, or Turke3^ Buz- 

 zard, as it is commonly called, is an 

 abundant resident here, and seems 

 about as numerous at one season as an- 

 other 



In this locality I think it has a, decid- 

 ed prefei'ence for Ciirrion, but in cold 

 weather, when food is scarce it will 

 cat fresli meat. They will sometimes, 

 in company with (Jrows, devour the 

 remainder of a chicken or r?bbit killed 

 l)y a Hawk, as snon as the latter has 

 made his meal and left. 



\Vh n a large animal dies, a iuindred 

 a niDre imlividuals will collect, i\i .iig 

 their lime during the day, between eat- 

 ing and silting on tiie nearest trees and 

 fences; and at night loosting in an ad- 

 ,jac<!iit iV((od. 



When they lirst lind a dead animal 

 they will (jxamine it carefully, and if its 

 condition is not satisfat;tory will leave, 

 and rclnrii later. .After the discovery 

 i>r fresh meat, I tliink they will sonie- 

 tinuis collect and w.iil for it to putrefy. 

 I once found inic, in winter that from 



some cause was unable to fly, and on 

 being caught it vomited something that 

 /ooA'trf like wheat or timoth}' heads and 

 clay. (I was not anxious to examine it 

 closely.) I suppose extreme hunger 

 was the cause of its having recoursed to 

 this unnaiural diet. 



When captured in a steel trap, a Buz- 

 zard, if approached will never show 

 tight, but will stick his head under his 

 b(Kly or wing and lie as if dead. The 

 oul}' vocal sound I have heard them ut- 

 ter is a blow, sounding like that made 

 by a sitting Turkey hen when she is dis- 

 turbed. 



On May 22, 1890, Prof. J. H. Langille 

 and I made an excursion to the Patux- 

 ent river in scare h of a Buzzard's nest. 

 We found it on the ground in a large 

 Chestnut stump, on a steep hillside a 

 short distance from the river, where 

 there was a little oak timber and a 

 ilense growth of laurel brush. It con- 

 taineil two youijg, apparently about 

 four days old, covered with white down, 

 but wiih the fore parts of their heads 

 naked and black, and a bare strip down 

 the breast exposing a coal-black skin. 

 The old bird would not leave her 3'oung, 

 sull'ering herself to be ])ushed aside 

 with a slick While we wire there slit; 

 disgorged something which one of ihem 

 commenced eating. I visited the i)lai-e 

 again June 1, and fouml tiicm i-onsidcr- 

 ably larger, and partly coveri-d with 

 black feathers On July 22, they were 

 still in the nest, and did not look as if 

 they would leave it bu-a week or two. 

 The parent Ijird was not found (ui the 

 nest when these subsequent visits were 

 made. Visiiing the place onApi'ill!), 

 "Dl, I took a set of two <'ggs, \ e)y .>-liolit- 

 ly incubated. 



On May ?'(). '!•!, my usual compai'ion 

 on C(dlecting excursions, and I lo(d\ a 

 set of two eggs from a wooded hillside 

 .near the banks of ihc Patuxent, aliont 

 a quarter of a mile below the liist nest. 

 They had been dc[)osited on the ground 

 under an oxerhanging rock, and were 



