CATHARTES AURA — TURKEY BUZZARD. 205 



parts, some of these feathers having a purplish lustre ; bill 

 tinged with yellow; head and neck bright red, naked or 

 thinly sprinkled with down, skin wrinkled; feet, flesh 

 colored, tinged with yellow; length of skin from 30 to 32 

 inches ; extent of wings, 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches ; tail 12 

 inches. 



No specimen in the Museum of the Cleveland Academy 

 of Natural Science. 



At the present time these birds are to be found distrib- 

 uted over a great part of the State, and jDrior to 1832-4, 

 were very numerous around Cleveland. A favorite roost- 

 ing place was in the immediate vicinity of where the 

 Medical College now stands; but since that period, owing 

 to some unknown reason, the birds have entirely deserted 

 their old haunt, and are seldom to be seen within, many 

 miles of Cleveland. In Huron, Erie and Sandusky coun- 

 ties they are comparatively plentiful, and their nests are 

 said to be occasionally found on tall oak trees. In the 

 neighborhood of Ohillicothe, Ross county, they are abun- 

 dant, and Mr. R. K. Winslow believes they pass the winter 

 there. In the southern part of the State they are quite 

 common. 



The Turkey Buzzard feeds principally on carrion, and 

 is, therefore, a benefactor, by removing putrid animal 

 remains that would otherwise taint the air. According 

 to Audubon, it lays only two eggs, and builds its nest on 

 the ground, at the roots of trees, or among long grass, 

 and he says that it will eat the young and eggs of herons 

 and other birds. The eggs are large, cream colored, with 

 markings of brown and black on the largest end. The 

 young are, in all probbility, fed by regurgitation, in the 

 manner of pigeons, this being the habit of the family. 

 When disturbed after feeding, the old birds will vomit the 

 unsavory contents of their crops in the face of any one who 

 attempts to capture them, a pretty powerful way of making 



