BIRDS OF PREY 



325. TURKEY VULTURE. Cathartes aura septentrionalis. 



Range. America, from New Jersey on the Atlantic coast, 

 Manitoba and British Columbia, south to southern South 



324 32;"> 



Creamy \vhite 



America, wintering in the southern half of the United 

 States. 



The plumage of this small Buzzard (length 30 inches) is blackish brown, the 

 naked head being red. It is very common in the southern and central portions 

 of its range, where it frequents the streets and door yards picking up any refuso 

 that is edible. It is a very graceful bird while on the wing, and can readily be 

 identified when at a distance from the fact that, when in flight, the tips of the 

 wings curve upward. The two eggs which constitute a set are laid upon the 

 ground between large rocks, in hollow stumps, under logs, or between the 

 branching trunks of large trees, generally in large woods. They frequently 

 nest in communities and again, only a single pair may be found in the woods. 

 Its nesting season ranges from March until June in the different localities. 

 The eggs are creamy or bluish white, spotted and blotched with shades of brown, 

 and with fainter markings of lavender. Size 2.70 x 1.85. 



,326. BLACK VULTURE. Catharista uruba. 



Range. More southerly than the preceding; north regularly to North Caro- 

 lina and southern Illinois, and west to the Rocky Mountains. 



This species is about the same size, or slightly smaller than the Turkey 

 Vulture; its plumage is entirely black as is also the naked head, and bill. In 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf States, the present species is even more abundant 

 than the preceding, and might even be said to be partially domesticated. The 

 nesting habits are the same as those of the Turkey Buzzard but their eggs 

 average longer and the ground color is pale greenish or bluish white rather than 

 creamy. They are spotted and blotched the same. Size 3.00 x. 2.00. 





199 



