OF THE UNITED STATES 223 



been mistaken for any other species, and it is more than probable 

 that the single alleged occurrence in its case is based upon an 

 entirely erroneous statement. Not taking into account, then, 

 these and others alluded to, we find that the group is represented 

 in our United States avifauna by three very remarkable species. 

 These are the California Vulture (Pseudogryplms calif ornianus), 

 the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) (see figure), and the Black 

 Vulture (Catharista atrata). If we accept the geographical dis- 

 tribution of these several species as given in the Check List of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union, we find that the California 

 Vulture is confined to the " coast ranges of southern California, 

 from Monterey Bay southward into Lower California, formerly 

 north to Frazer Kiver" ; that the Turkey Vulture is found in "tem- 

 perate North America, 'from New Jersey, Ohio valley, Saskatch- 

 ewan region, and British Columbia, southward to Patagonia and 

 the Falkland islands; casual in New England"; and finally, the 

 Black Vulture occurs in the " South Atlantic and Gulf States, 

 north regularly to North Carolina and the lower Ohio valley, 

 west to the Great Plains, and south through Mexico and Central 

 America, the West Indies, and most of South America, strag- 

 gling north to New York, New England, and South Dakota; 

 breeds in the United States from North Carolina coastwise to 

 Texas, and in the interior to Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas." 



In these vultures we find at the base of the middle and inner 

 toes a distinct web to exist, and their weak feet are entirely unfit 

 for grasping, being totally different in this particular from the 

 talons of a falcon. Excepting the young, their heads are prac- 

 tically unfeathered, the openings to the nostrils being placed 

 longitudinally. Their beaks are hooked, and their gape wide. 

 In the main, as a rule, their plumage is of a dull black, but in the 

 Turkey Vulture this is glossed with a greenish or violet shade, 

 and the upper plumage shows a 4 ee P emargination of brown 

 to the feathers. Old Turkey Buzzards exhibit transverse wrinkles 

 on the top of the head and below the gape, while the distal or 

 horny part of the beak is pure white, and the skinny parts about 

 the nostrils and eyes are of a livid red color. Numerous small, 

 white caruncles occur here beyond the eyes, while in the subadult 

 individuals all these parts are blackish. They make their nests, 

 as a rule, in cavities, either upon or near the ground ; frequently 

 in hollow logs or stumps. The Black and Turkey Vultures lay 

 large and beautifully marked eggs, while on the other hand the 



