500 THE TURKEY-BUZZARD. 



THE TURKEY-BUZZARD. 



The turkey-buzzard (Cathartes ora) is similar in its habits 

 to the black vulture, and is frequently mistaken for it. It 

 is seldom found southward of latitude 41. Of late years, 

 however, they have become numerous in the Valley of the 

 Colorado, three hundred miles further south. It is not found 

 on the desert and arid plains of Northern Patagonia, except 

 near some stream ; and it is supposed not to have passed into 

 Chili, although in Peru it exists in great numbers, where it is 

 preserved to act the part of a scavenger. 



It is a solitary bird, and goes in pairs ; and may at once be 

 recognized at a distance, from its lofty soaring and most ele- 

 gant flight. It ranges from North America to Cape Horn. 



Such are some of the more notable members of the feathered 

 tribes inhabiting the Valley of the Amazon. There are num- 

 berless others, both land and water birds, a description of 

 which would occupy too much space, some of them also being 

 common to other parts of the world. Several, likewise, are 

 seen more frequently either in Venezuela and Guiana, or in 

 the La Plata region, and will be noticed when we visit those 

 countries. 



From the Birds, then, we will pass on to the Reptiles and 

 Insects of South America ; in which, as to number and the 

 variety of their forms and habits, it equals, if it does not 

 surpass, any portion of similar size of the Old World, in the 

 same latitude. 



