BIRDS OF KANSAS. 243 



monly with one basal web; hallux considerable and completely incumbent (ex- 

 cept Cathartidce). Legs feathered to the suffrage or beyond. Rectrices twelve 

 (with rare exceptions). Primaries sinuate or emarginate (with rare exceptions). 

 Sternum singly or doubly notched or feuestrate. Palate desmognathous, 

 Carotids double. Syrinx wanting, or developed with only one pair of muscles. 

 Altricial; the young being weak and heldless, yet ptilopsedic, being down at 

 birth." 



SUBOKDER SARCORHAMPHI. AMERICAN VULTURES. 



Head entirely naked, or else only partially covered with down (in young); 

 nostrils longitudinal; a distinct web between inner and middle toes, at base; 

 hind toe short, elevated, the feet wholly unfit for grasping. (Ridgway.) 



FAMILY CATHARTID^l. AMERICAN YULTUEES. 



"Whole head, and sometimes the neck, naked; eyes prominent, and not 

 shaded by a superciliary shield. Cere much elongated, much depressed anteri- 

 orly below the very arched cnlmen; nostrils longitudinal, horizontal, the two 

 confluent or perforated. Middle toe very long, and hind one much abbreviated. 

 A web between the base of the inner and middle toes." 



GEJSTJS CATHARTES ILLIGEB. 



"Size medium, the wings and tail well developed, the remiges very long and 

 large. Head and upper portion of the neck naked; the skin smooth, or merely 

 wrinkled; a semicircular patch of antrorse bristles before the eye. Nostril very 

 large, with both ends broadly rounded, occupying the whole of the nasal orifice. 

 Cere contracted anteriorly, and as deep as broad; lower mandible not so deep 

 as the upper. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck, with broad, rounded, 

 normal feathers. Ends of primaries reaching beyond the end of the tail; third 

 or fourth quill longest; outer five with inner webs appreciably sinuated. Tail 

 much rounded; middle toe slightly longer than tarsus. Sexes alike." 



Cathartes aura 



TURKEY VULTURE. 

 PLATE XIV. 



Summer resident; abundant; occasionally seen in winter. 

 Begin laying the last of April. 



B. 1. R. 454. C. 537. G. 213, 111. U. 325. 



HABITAT. Nearly the whole of temperate and tropical Amer- 

 ica, from New England, Manitoba, British Columbia and Wash- 

 ington southward, including the West Indies, to Falkland Islands 

 and Patagonia. 



SP. CHAR. Adult: Neck and lower parts uniform dull black; upper parts 

 blackish, with a greenish and violet gloss, the feathers of the back, the scapulars 

 and wing coverts with margins broadly (but not abruptly) light grayish brown; 

 edge of secondaries light grayish brown, varying to light ashy; shafts of quills 



