XXVII 



BLACK VULTURE; CARRION CROW 

 326. Catharista atrata 



TURKEY VULTURE ; TURKEY BUZZARD 

 325. Cathartes aura (Linn.) 



These two big, black, repulsive carrion eaters are so 

 much alike in their general make-up and habits that with 

 a few additions the description of one will, for all prac- 

 tical purposes, answer for both. 



The Turkey Vulture is thirty inches long, slightly 

 longer than the Black Vulture, but is not so heavy. The 

 Black Vulture is black all over, including the naked skin 

 of the head, while the head of the Turkey Vulture is of 

 a deep crimson, and this bird is thus much more repul- 

 sive in its appearance than the other. Its range is 

 broader than that of the black species, the latter being 

 pretty well confined to the southern Gulf and Atlantic 

 states. 



Both species breed over their entire range, nesting 

 in hollow logs, stumps, and on the ground and in rocky 

 caverns, each female laying two eggs, cream-colored with 

 large brown blotches. The Turkey Vultures frequently 

 breed in communities. (Fig. 38.) 



The young are fed by the regurgitation of in jested 

 carrion of anything putrid that is found. Be it snake, 

 rat, skunk or a cholera-infected hog, it all looks, smells, 

 and tastes alike to them. 



The beautiful, delicate Humming-birds also feed by 

 regurgitation, but their food is the purest, freshest and 

 sweetest of flower nectar. 



The black species of Vulture at one time was a com- 

 mon visitant to Southern Kansas, but of late years it 

 is rarely seen there. This species flaps its wings more 

 while flying than does the Turkey Buzzard. The latter 

 frequently soars gracefully, high in the air, for hours 

 at a time, with scarcely a visible movement of its wings. 



99 



