ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BIRDS 181 



sight identification which often puzzles or irritates inex- 

 perienced students. It is perfectly true that either can be 

 recognized at the limit of human vision by anyone who knows 

 both birds well. It is equally true that an observer who does 

 not know the Black Vulture, and who identifies it by its 

 black head and silvery wings, has not produced a record of 

 any scientific value. The young Turkey Vulture has a black 

 head, the red head of the adult looks black at any distance 

 unless the light strikes it just right, and similarly the light 

 playing through its half -spread primaries often gives a false 

 grayish or silvery effect. The Black Vulture is, however, 

 readily identifiable on the wing by shape and flight character- 

 istics. It is a heavier bird than the Turkey Vulture, the wings 

 are flapped more often and more rapidly, and the short tail 

 barely projects beyond the hind edge of the wings. A specimen 

 has been taken near Sandy Hook just outside our area, and 

 two on Long Island. There are two sight records worthy of 

 consideration. 



Long Island. One specimen found on Coney Island Beach 

 about 1881. One shot on Plum Island, May 19 or 20, 1896 by a 

 farmer, preserved by Mr. C. W. Crandall of Woodside, and ex- 

 amined by Dr. Wm. C. Braislin (see Auk, 1909, p. 315). Mr. Roy 

 Latham reports seeing a Black Vulture at Orient May 4, 1907 and 

 June 20, 1916. 



SWALLOW- TAILED KITE (Elanoides forficatus) 

 An accidental visitor from the South, formerly straggling 

 northward, when it was a much commoner species in the 

 East, with a wider range than it now has. 



Long Island. Two captures, in 1837 and 1845. 



New Jersey. One shot near Chatham about 1873 (Herrick). 

 A record of two seen September 18, 1887 near Morristown by L. 

 P. Shirrer and George Held is without any details, and is not con- 

 vincing. 



