1 62 THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



In the United States we have three vultures, of 

 which the one characteristic of the Pacific coast is 

 much the largest. Ridgway says of it, " now much 

 reduced in numbers and extinct in many localities 

 where formerly abundant." 



Lewis and Clarke refer as follows to this bird : 



" The buzzard is, we believe, the largest bird of North America. 

 One which was taken by our hunters was not in good condition, and 

 yet the weight was twenty-five pounds. Between the extremity of 

 the wings the bird measured nine feet and two inches. ... It is 

 not known that this bird preys upon living animals : we have seen 

 him feeding on the remains of the whale and other fish thrown upon 

 the coast by the violence of the waves. This bird was not seen by 

 any of the party until we had descended Columbia River below the 

 great falls." 



The vulture common to the Middle States and 

 southward is known almost everywhere as the 

 " Turkey-buzzard." Dr. Coues says our birds are 

 more sluggish and have nothing of the spirit of Eu- 

 ropean vultures, and I can well believe it, for the 

 turkey-buzzard is one wherein enchantment is in pro- 

 portion to the distance, so far as the spectator is con- 

 cerned. As a bird of the air, circling for hours with 

 no apparent movement of the wings, this bird is cer- 

 tainly the embodiment of grace; as a bird of the 

 ground, surfeited with unsavory mutton, unable to 

 fly and scarcely to reach the top rail of a fence, the 

 bird is the picture of helpless, gluttonous stupidity. 



In the Middle States and they are rare northward 

 these birds are both resident and migratory, and 

 being protected by law, are quite tame in some locali- 

 ties. Wherever sheep are raised the " turkey-buz- 

 zard" is sure to be found, but I have never known of 



