TURKEY VULTURE 263 



seed. As Professor Beal says, " Any bird which 

 eats freely the seeds of such pests as pigweed, 

 bitterweed, amaranth, and sorrel should be given 

 the most perfect protection unless it is clearly 

 shown to have bad habits which offset the benefit 

 thus conferred." 



Birds of Prey. 



There is a rooted prejudice against both Hawks 

 and Owls, although, as investigations prove, as a 

 group they rank among the most valuable of 

 all birds. They are persecuted unceasingly, and 

 yet, as Doctor Fisher says, the majority of them 

 labor day and night to destroy the enemies of the 

 husbandman. 



Turkey Vulture : Catharles aura. 

 (Fig. 163, p. 264.) 



Head and neck naked, the skin bright red ; rest of body black- 

 ish ; tail and wings brownish. Length, about 30 inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Temperate North America, from 

 New Jersey, Ohio valley, Saskatchewan region, and the State 

 of Washington southward to Patagonia. Of more or less reg- 

 ular occurrence in New Jersey as far north as Princeton in the 

 interior and Sandy Hook on the coast. Casual northward on 

 the Atlantic coast to Maine. 



The Buzzards serve man by acting as scaven- 

 gers, and the occupation, in the warm countries 

 where they occur, is no sinecure. 



In New Orleans and other southern cities north- 

 ern tourists see the novel sight of Buzzards sitting 

 in rows on the fences, and in many places may 



