544 



PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS I ZOOLOGY. 



edly from adults in general appearance, but there is a greater or less 



admixture or shading of dull brown in the plumage, not to be found in the 



adults. 



Fig. 272. 



Coragyps urubu. Young soon after hatching. One-half natural size. 



Downy young are tawny buff color, darker on the head, which is downy 

 on top, but still shows the bare part, that is to be, clearly defined through 

 the down ; the skin is dark-colored ; the eyes hazel-brown ; feet bluish lead- 

 color ; bill dull lead-color. These birds are very young, the tgg tooth on 

 the bill not being as yet absorbed or worn off 



Geographical Range. — South America to 40° S. latitude ; the Rio Negro 

 region of Patagonia ; the whole of Central America ; Mexico and North 

 America to nearly the fortieth parallel on the eastern coast and the Missis- 

 sippi Valley ; not yet recorded from western Mexico or California. 



Mr. Hatcher did not explore that portion of Patagonia where this vulture 

 occurs, and the North American examples in the Princeton Museum, of 

 which there are many in all phases of plumage, have formed a basis for 

 the foregoing descriptions. Darwin and other noted travelers and natu- 

 ralists have left to us their impressions of these birds as they occur in Pat- 

 agonia and Chili and some of their observations are given below. 



The birds nest on the ground in secluded places in the woods in under- 

 growth preferably, and sometimes close to fallen timber. In Florida I 

 have found them nesting in dense thickets of scrub palmetto in February 



