THE TUKKEY BUZZARD. 



285 



useless in consequence of the intense heat of the sun, but which had not 

 been touched by the Vultures." 



One of the best known of the Vultures is the Turkey Buzzard, 

 more rightly termed the Carrion Vulture. Its name of Turkey 

 Buzzard is earned from the strange resemblance which a Carrion Vul- 

 ture bears to a turkey, as it walks slowly and with a dignified air, 

 stretching its long bare neck, and exhibiting the fleshy appendages 

 which bear some likeness to the wattles of the turkey. This bird is 

 found chiefly in North America, but is also an inhabitant of Jamaica, 

 where it is popularly known as the John Crow. 



The nest of the Turkey Buzzard is a very inartistical afl^air, consist- 

 ing merely of some suitable hollow tree or decayed log, in which there 



Turkey Buzzard 



{Catharista Aura). 



Black Vulture 



( Vultur niger). 



may be a depression of sufficient depth to contain the eggs. In this 

 simple cradle the female deposits from two to four eggs, which are of 

 a dull cream-white, blotched with irregular chocolate splashes, which 

 seem to congregate toward the larger end. The young birds are 

 covered with a plentiful supply of white down. 



The adult Turkey Buzzard is a rather large bird, measuring two feet 

 six inches in length, and six feet ten inches across the expanded wings. 

 The weight is about five pounds. The general color of the plumage is 

 black, mingled with brown, the secondaries being slightly tipped with 

 white, and a few of the coverts edged with the same tint. On the neck, 

 the back, the shoulders, and the scapularies, the black hue is shot with 

 bronze, green, and purple. Beneath the thick plumage is a light coat- 

 ing of soft white down, which apparently serves to preserve the crea- 

 ture at a proper temperature. The bare skin of the neck is not as 

 wrinkled as in several Vultures, and the feathers make a complete 



