OF THE UNITED STATES 231 



much greater distribution. It is being rapidly exterminated; 

 Indeed, they are more than rare at the present writing. Nearly 

 all the early describers of this great vulture gave its eggs as 

 being two in number, and jet Uack in color. It is now well known 

 that they are of a uniform tint, unspotted, and of a light grayish- 

 green color. According to Bendire, " the mode of nidiflcation of 

 the California vulture is similar to that of the common" Turkey 

 vulture, and that as a rule they make but little of a nest, usually 

 laying their eggs on rubbish on the ground found in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity of the nesting site, alongside or in a hollow log, or in 

 crevices of rocky cliffs. It is possible that at times they make 

 use of the abandoned nests of the Golden Eagles, which are com- 

 mon in that part of California, and the nest described to Mr. 

 Flint as being placed in a large redwood tree in the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains was probably such an one, and was made use of by 

 the vultures after being abandoned by the eagles." 



Some of the reports sent to Bendire, and published in his Life 

 Histories of North American Birds, go to show that this vulture 

 is likely to increase in numbers in the future, as its great thin- 

 ning out in former years was largely due to its feeding upon the 

 poisoned carcasses, placed as bait for the carnivora by cattle- 

 raisers. This practice has, at the present time, been largely 

 -abandoned. 



