CATHARTID.E — THE AMERICAN VULTURES. 339 



3.60; posterior, 1.10; middle claw (longest), 1.50; posterior (shortest), 1.90. Total 

 length, .45 - .50 ; extent of wings, about 9 or 10 feet. 



Adult. Bill yellowish white ; naked skin of the head and neck orange and red ; iris 

 carmine (authors). General plumage dull black, the upper surface with a faint bluish 

 lustre, the feathers (excepting the primary coverts, secondary coverts, and remiges) pass- 

 ing into dull brownish on their margins, producing a squamate appearance. Scapulars 

 and (more appreciably) the secondaries and their coverts with a hoary grayish cast, the 

 latter white for most of their exposed portions (producing a band across the wing), the 

 white following the edges of the secondaries nearly to their ends ; primaries and tail- 

 feathers, with their shafts, uniform deep black. Whole lining of the wing (except the 

 outer border) and axillars pure white. Lower parts continuous dull carbonaceous-black, 

 the tips of the penicillate feathers with a hoary or chalky tinge. (No. 41,649, Monterey, 

 California; Dr. C. A. Canfield. Wing, 32.00; tail, 15.00; culmen, 1.50; depth of bill, 

 1.20 ; length of head, 7.00 ; cere, on top, 2.90 ; point of bill to anterior end of nostril, 2.50 ; 

 tarsus, 5.00 ; middle toe, 4.20.) 



Young. Bill dusky ; naked skin of the head and neck dusky, and more or less covered 

 with soft, grayish down. Plumage duller black, with the white wholly absent. (No. 

 41,707, Monterey ; C. A. Canfield. Measurements as in the last.) 



Localities : Fort Yuma (Coues, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. 1866, 42). 



Hab. Pacific Coast region from mouth of the Colorado to the Columbia ? Southern 

 Utah (Hensiiaw). 



Habits. This large Vulture, so far as is known, is restricted to the area 

 on the Pacific Coast from the Columbia Eiver to the Colorado, and extending 

 as far to the east as the Sierra Nevada. None are known to have been taken 

 in Mexico, and it very rarely goes north of the Columbia It is said to 

 be most common in the hot interior valleys of California, where are large 

 herds of cattle, upon which it, to a large extent, depends for its food. Dr. 

 Cooper saw none on the Colorado, and met with none east of the San Ber- 

 nardino Mountains. Even at Fort Mohave the cattle killed during the five 

 months he resided there did not attract one of these Vultures. 



Dr. Cooper did not see these birds in any number along the sea-coast, and 

 has noticed none on the islands or in the highest Sierra Nevada. Yet they 

 are said, when other food is scarce, to feed on dead seals and whales ; but 

 this fact he has never witnessed. 



Dr. Newberry states that it was to him a pleasant portion of every day's 

 experience, in his march through the Sacramento Valley, to watch the grace- 

 ful evolutions of this Vulture. In its colors the combination was a pleasing 

 one, while its flight was easy and effortless beyond that of any other bird. 

 Though a common bird in California, he found it much more shy and diffi- 

 cult to shoot than its associate, the Turkey-Buzzard ; and it was never seen 

 in such numbers or exhibiting such familiarity as the smaller species which 

 swarm, and are such efficient scavengers, in our southern cities. After his 

 party left the Sacramento Valley, he saw very few in the Klamath Basin, 

 and met with none within the limits of Oregon. It is occasionally found 

 there, but much more rarely than in California. 



Dr. Newberry states that a fine specimen presented to Dr. Sterling on his 

 return to San Francisco ate freely of the meat given him, and was for some 



