THE BIRDS OF JAMAICA. 



Order.— ACCIPITRES. {Birds of prey.) 

 Fam.— VULTURID^. {The Vultures.) 



JOHN-CROW VULTURE* 

 ( Turkey-buzzard. — Wilson.) 



*" Cathartes aura. 



Vultur aura, Linn. 



Cathartes aura, Illiger. — Aud. pi. 15L 



The history of this species has been so ably 

 written by Wilson and Audubon, that I shall do 

 little more than touch on one or two disputed points 

 in its economy. An excellent memoir of this Vul- 

 ture, communicated to me by my valued friend 

 Richard Hill, Esq., of Spanish-town, affords some 

 interesting particulars : — 



" Notwithstanding it forms so common a feature 

 in our landscapes, being seen every day and every 

 where, on the mountain as well as in the plain, in 

 the city as well as in the country, the Aura is not 

 common to the West Indies. It exists in Cuba and 



* Length 25^ inches, expanse %Q., tail 9^, wing from flexure "20-^, 

 rictus 2^, tarsus 3, middle toe 2-^., claw ■{■^. 



