490 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Genus CATHARTBS Illiger. 



Cathartes Illig. Prodromus, 1811, 236. Type (by elimination), VuUur aura Lnw. 

 Mhinogryphus Eidgw. in Hist. N. Am. B. iii, 1874, 337, 343. Same type. 



Gen. Chak. Size medium (about equal to Heophron), the -wings and tail well de- 

 veloped, the remiges very Ions and large. Head and upper portion of the neck naked; 

 the skin smooth, or merely wrinkled; a semicircular patch of antrorse bristles before the 

 eye. Nostril very large, with both ends broadly rounded, occupying the whole of the 

 nasal orifice. Cere contracted anteriorly, and as deep as broad; lower mandible not so 

 deep as the upper. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck, with broad, rounded, 

 normal feathers. Ends of primaries reaching beyond the end of the tail; third or fourth 

 quill longest; outer five with inner webs appreciably sinuated. Tail much rounded; 

 middle toe slightly longer than the tarsus. Sexes alike. 



Cathartes aura (Linn.) 



TUEKEY BTTZZAKD. 



Popular synonyms. Turkey Vulture; Buzzard. 



VuUur aura Linn. S. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 122.— WiLS. Am. Orn. ix, 1814, 96, pi. 75, flg. 1. 

 Cattartes aura Illig. 1811.— NuTT.Man. i, 1832, 43.— AuD. Orn. Biog. ii,1835, 296; v,1839, 

 S39,pl. 151; Synop. 1839, 3; B. Am. i, 1840 15 pi 2.— Cass, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858, 4. 

 — Baikd, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859,No. 1.- Coues, Key, 1872,222; CheekList. 1874, No.365; 

 2d ed. 1882, No. 537 ; B. N. W . 1874, 379.- Kidgw. Nom. N. Am. B . 1881, No. 454. 

 Mhinogryphus aura Ridgw. in Hist. N. Am. B. iii, 1874, 344. 



Hab. Whole of tropical and temperate America, including West Indies; north to- 

 southern New England, Ontario and the Saskatchewan, south to Chili, Patagonia, and 

 Falkland Islands. Besident south of 40°. 



Sp. Chak. Length, about 27.00-30.00 ; extent of wings, about 6 feet; weight, 4-5 pounds. 

 Wing, 20.00-23.00; tail, 11.00-12.00; culmen, about 1.00; tarsus, 2.25-2.30; middle toe, 2.50; 

 outer, 1.55; inner. 1.25; posterior, .80. Iris brown; tarsi and toes dirty whitish, tinged with 

 yellow or flesh color. 



Adult. Bill chalk- white; naked skin of the head and neck livid crimson, approach- 

 ing dilute carmine on the cere, and sometimes with whitish paplllfe on the crown and 

 before the eye. General plumage dull black, this deepest and uniform on the lower 

 parts; upper parts with a violet lustre, changing to greenish posteriorly, all the feathers 

 of the dorsal region and the wing-coverts passing into light brownish on their borders. 

 Primaries and tail-feathers dull black, their shafts clear pale brown; sometimes nearly 

 white. Male (No. 12,015, Maryland: M. F. Force): Wing, 22.00; tail, 12.00; culmen, .95; 

 tarsus,2.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 1.55; inner. 1.25; posterior, .80. Female (No. 49,681, 

 Camp Grant, Arizona: Dr. E. Palmer): Wiug,20.00; tail, 11.50. 



Younq. Bill, and naked skin of the head and neck, livid blackish, the occiput and 

 nape with more or less of whitish down; plumage more uniformly blackish, the brown- 

 ish borders above less distinct; the reflections of the plumage rather green than viola- 

 ceous. 



The Turkey Buzzard is a very abundant bird in the southern 

 half of the State, and is a permanent resident at least as far north 

 as Mt. Carmel, though it is only during clear bright days that 

 specimens are seen in midwinter. In the extreme northern portion 



