256 Life and Immortality. 



wide-spreading cactus branches or underneath low bushes 

 in the midst of tall grasses in level saline marshes. 



In the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C, Dr. C. Kollock met with 

 the black vulture and our present species in swamps and dense 

 forests, where they congregate in vast numbers throughout 

 the entire year. These places are commonly designated 

 Buzzards' roosts. Audubon once visited one of these roosts 

 in the vicinity of Charleston, which covered more than 

 two acres of ground, and which was completely denuded of 

 vegetation. On the banks of many of the rivers of Southern 

 Texas, Mr. Dresser found them nesting in large numbers, 

 the timber along their borders constituting comfortable and 

 secure shelter ; but, contrary to what has always been enter- 

 tained, he affirms that they build large and bulky nests of 

 sticks, which they place at great heights in an oak or cypress, 

 close by the river-banks. Captain C. C. Abbott says that 

 in the Falkland Islands the eggs are deposited in the midst 

 of bushes beneath high banks, or on the summits of decayed 

 balsam logs, during the early part of November. In certain 

 localities, where the birds are not very common, paired indi- 

 viduals are not infrequently found. 



Two eggs generally constitute a nest-full, although instances 

 are known where but a single egg was deposited. On the 

 Falkland Islands they are said to lay three occasionally. In 

 the West Indies, especially in the Bahamas, the complement 

 is the same as in the United States, and there does not seem 

 to be any difference in the habits of the birds in the two 

 places. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, Florida and 

 South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are vari- 

 ously marked with shades of brown, intermingled with 

 splashes of lavender and purple, which are often so faint as 

 to be perceptible only upon close examination. Brewer 

 mentions a variety from near Cheraw, S. C., that was nearly 

 pure white, and which showed but a few small red and 

 slightly purplish lines and dots about the larger extremity. 

 Recently we have met with some from Texas answering the 



