1912] Miller: Pacific Coast Avian Palaeontology 97 
relatives occur in the southern hemisphere at a latitude corres- 
ponding with the region of deposit in the northern hemisphere. 
Fossil Species Nearest Living Relative 
Phoenicopterus copei Shufeldt.............. Phoenicopterus ruber ? Linnaeus 
Cieconia maltha Miller........ edscenaasncecsecssenes, Euxenura maguari (Temm.) 
Myeteria americana Linnaeus Myeteria americana Linnaeus 
Jabiru myeteria (Lichtenstein) ............ Jabiru myeteria author 
Catharista occidentalis Miller................ Catharista urubu (Vieillot) 
Sarecorhamphus elarki Miller.................. Sareorhamphus gryphus Auet. 
Circus, Se on .wcwessencnnccescsnsnnacenn: ann ...Cireus cenereus or C. maculosus 


Geranoaétus melanoleueus Auet.... ..Geranoaétus melanoleucus Auct. 
Geranoaétus fragilis Miller 

Polyborus tharus Auct...............-.--:+- Polyborus tharus Auct. 
Cases parallel with Worphnus in having their nearest related 
Recent phase limited to more tropical zones are as follows: 

Fossil Species Nearest Living Relative 
Pavo californicus Millev....................... Pavo eristatus or Meleagris ocellatus 
Morphnus woodwardi Miller.................. Morphnus guianensis Auct. 
Geranoaétus grinnelli Miller -Morphnus guianensis Auct. 
Micropallas whitneyi (Cooper) ............. Micropallas whitneyi (Cooper) 
(BOGOR Ca, 1(0E))), SPa ce ecscceeateedencewaceoneacenenees Neomorpha geoffroyi (Temm.) 
One of the striking features in the study of so representative 
a series of deposits, all of so nearly the same age as are the 
bird-bearing deposits of the Pacifie Coast, is the total absence 
of certain forms which one would expeet to find therein. While 
it is conceded that negative evidence in palaeontology is a frail 
peg upon which to hang an opinion, yet the negation may be so 
pronounced and so uniformly persistant that, in some eases at 
least, the only conclusion possible is that species did not occur 
in the region during the time of deposition. 
The particularly favorable conditions offered at Rancho La 
Brea for the trapping of vultures and eagles has been commented 
upon in a previous paper on the condors. There was exposed 
at that place during an indefinite period a more or less con- 
stantly baited trap which was unusually attractive to both vul- 
ture and eagle. It was automatic in its operation, effective in 
its hold upon the victim, and almost ideal in the preservation of 
its catch, the remains of which were sealed from the air in liquid 
asphalt while still in the flesh. The entire collection of raptorial 
remains includes, however, no specimen of the royal vulture 
(Gyparchus papa) or of the harpy eagle (Thrasaétus harpya), 
