305 



CATHAHir^TA ATRATA. "^^-^ 



GENUS ir. CATUARISTA. THE SQUARE-TAILED VULTURES. 



t>F.N. Cn. Bill, long and rather slender. Head, destitute of fen I hers, but the neck is covered behind, and there is no 

 naked space on the breast. Tail, short and square. i<t'jrnuin, long, at least e(jUaling twice its tcidth in length. The four 

 marginal indentations are open. Furcula, nut very wide at base. 



Tl:-estcrno-tiac-healis i*! quite thick, but tiiere are no other lai-j'ngeal muscles. The inferior kirynx is vcrj' small, and 

 there are no tyiuiianifonn or semilunar membranes, wliile the lower portions of bronciiials are meml)raneous. The trachea 

 is much flattened throughout. The oesophagus is dilated near the middle into a very large crop, and the walls are usually 

 very thin. The proventriculus is very large, with the walls quite thick, and composed of numerous, small, simple, glands, 

 arranged in a zonular band which measures from I'OO to 125 in width. Thestomach is small, somewhat globular in form, 

 with quite thin walls, lined witb a soft membrane. There is a pyloric lobe, '75 in diameter. The fold of the duodenum 

 is very long, measuring from 8"00 to lO'OO, and incloses a small, irregularly formed pancreas which only occupies a short 

 portion of its entire length, near stonuieh. Coeca, wanting. Both lobes of the liver are short, thick, and nearly equal in 

 size. The heart is large and triangular in form. The spleen is an oval-shaped body situated on the proventriculus. There 

 in but one species within our limits. 



CATHAKISTA ATRATA. 



Black-headed Buzzard. 



Calharista atrata Gr.it, Hand List, I; 1869. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cn. Form, robust. Size, large. Sternum, stout, with the keel considerably arched. Tongue, moderately long, 

 fleshy, deeply concave above, and the edges are provided with numerous, fine soft papillae which point backward. The 

 tip is rounded but not bifid. Sexes, similar in color. 



Coi.oH. Adult. Uniform dark brownish-black throughout, with a greenish iridescence on both surfaces, becoming 

 liglitcr on the primaries, especially on the outer webs of two thirds of the basal portions, where the colors are very light, 

 an 1 the shafts are white. 



Young. Quite similar to the adult, but less iridescent and the feathers extend up further on the back of the neck, 

 reaching the occiput. 



Nestlings. Are, at first, covered with a dirty-wliite down then gradually assume the plumage last described. Head 

 and neck, black and covered with short, black hairs, iris, bill, and feet, dark-brown, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



There is a little variation in plumage, some specimens being darker or lighter than the type. This species may be at 

 once leccignized by the square tail, black bead and colors as described. Distributed, as a constant resident, throughout the 

 Carolinas and southward, not very common north of this point but straggling into New England as far as Maine. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of female specimens from Florida. Length, SC'OO; stretch, 58-0(); wing, 17-25: tail, 800; bill, 

 1 15; tai-sus, 3'28. Longest specimen, 27-00; greatest extent of wing, 63'0(); longest wing, IS'OO; tail,8'50; bill, 130; tarsus, 

 3 35. Shortest specimen, 2500: smallest extent of wing, 56-00; sliortest wing, 16-50; tail, 750; bill, 1-00; tarsus, 2-25. 



Average nieasurements of male s|)eci mens from Florida. Length, 25-00; stretch, 57-50; wing, 16-75; tail, 7--15; bill, 

 110; tai-sus, 3- 15. Longest specimen, 26-(l0; greatest extent of wing, 59-00; longest wing, 17-50; tail, 775; bill, 1-20; tar- 

 sus, 3 20. Shortest specimen, 24-00; smallest extent of wing, .56-0"; sborte-st wing, 16-00; tail, 7-00; bill, 1-00; Uu-sus, 3-00. 



DESCRIPTIO.V OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground or occasionally on prostrate logs, in the wotjds; but little or no material is used in con- 

 structing them. 



Eggs, one or two in number, vai-ying from elliptical to oval in form, yellowish-white or creamy in color, blotched and 

 .spotted with very dark-brown and umber. Dimensions from 205x3-00 to 2-10x3 10. 



HABll'S. 



As will be seen by the description, the Black-headed Vultures differ jrreatly from the 

 preceding species in form and anatomical structure, and they also differ widely in habit; 

 so widely, in fact, that the two species scarcely have any peculiarities in common. It is 



