BIRDS. 



507 



black vulture, of the south. The carrion-crow is an inhabit ant of tropical 

 and sub-tropical America, ranging north to the Carolinas, and occasionally 

 straying even into New England and as far as Maine. The warmer climates, 

 where everything decays so rapidly, form its proper home, and there, like 

 its relatives, it does an immense amount of good as a scavenger. In sonic 

 places this office of the bird is recognized by legal enactment, and statutes 

 are in force which prohibit its destruction. As its name indicates, it is a 

 black bird; its wings have a spread of nearly five feet, and its neck and 



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Fig. 423. — Turkey-buzzard (Cathartes aura). 



head, like those of the other vultures, are nearly bare of feathers. In the 

 southern states they sometimes congregate in large numbers, especially 

 when some attractive carcass lies displayed before them. On one occasion 

 nearly three hundred were counted, perched upon every available object, 

 waiting for a chance to attack the body of a freshly flayed horse. 



A somewhat larger bird, and one with a browner plumage, is the turkey- 

 buzzard, which has much the same range ; that of the present bird extend- 

 ing much farther to the west. Where the carrion is they gather like their 



