TURKEY BUZZARD. 329 



Avi-niifP mra^uromrnN of nuilr -;nviir.'ii- IVnni Floriiln. l.rn.utli. 'J(>-7:">; sMvtr!;, (TT'CO; viii^, STOO; (nil, 10'R'i; Ml], 



1-17: Uirstv, -J-.T. Longest specimen, 27*95; TS'OO; lnn-< -t -i; ill, i ]:'.(>: liill.'J-iM); t:\r- 



SIH. -,!-7">. Slioi-t<-st s|ii>'iiiK'H, -Jl-.'H); .- dC: tail. 10 111; Mil, MM); Livsus, 



j-ta 



DESCKII'TloX OF NF.STS AND T 

 .\ r, M'cd on the tup-; <>f ^liiiiip~. -n I.,--, on r,.in,-.l buildings, i.i liullow trees, or on the ground; but little orno 



. 



. ,r MV,> in ii', ml XT vai-yinu' IV. -in ri:ii>ti. in form,dirty-whiteor rnvimy iii ' ! 'Botched 



tore thickl) brown and amber. Diinen.-ioii- IV. m isox2'G5 



HABITS. 



"When one sees tlio Red-headed Vultures for the first time and observes their various 

 aerial evolutions, now sailing high in air on moHonlesa^winga or gliding rapidly along (ho 

 surface of the ground, avoidini:' (lie numerous obstacles in their path, with the greatest 

 ease; rising and fall'mii 1 with a flight so smooth that it is seldom excelled by other birds; 

 iu short, performing all their movements upon the wing with the utmost grace and ele- 

 gance, 1 repeat, when one sees all this for the first time, he cannot help exclaiming,' 

 "What magnificent birds!" Then, if not ornithologist enough to recognize the species, 

 he turns to impure its name of the nearest native, he will he greeted, especially if the one 

 li'' ipiesfions be a descendant of Ham, with a look of astonishment followed by a broad 

 grin, at the apparent absurdity of the interrogative, while the immediate answer is given in 

 a tone in which disgust is so very apparent as to create surprise "Dat, why doan yer 

 know what daf is? Dat yer is nothin but a dirty Buzzard." Although this appears to be 

 quite like slander without a just cause, one soon learns to take the same view of the case 

 and', after becoming intimately acquainted with the birds, one cannot help regarding them 

 as "nothing but dirty Buzzards," and no matter how elegant and varied are their gyra- 

 tions, one can never look upon them with quite the same admiration as he did before wit- 

 n< i --ing their disgusting habits. There is no denying this charge, they are most decidedly 

 disgusting birds, not only being vile feeders on carrion but they cat it to excess, frequently 

 becoming so crammed that they are unable to move, when they are obliged to disgorge a 

 portion of their ill-smelling provender before they can take flight. 



Turkey Buzzards are the greatest cowards that I ever saw among birds; when one is 

 capture'!, which can be readily done by employing steel traps, it never makes the slight- 

 est attempt at defense, but merely hangs its head in the most abject manner, and if il lias 

 been eating anything recently, will discharge the contents of ils stomach at its captor's feet , 

 not because it wishes to get rid of the food but because it evidently intends to make a kind 

 of peace-offering, which too often, however, proves more highly odoriferous than accepta- 

 ble. This habit of relinquishing what they have eaten when attacked or frightened, is so 

 strong with the Turkey Buzzards that they will always vomit when wounded and I have 

 seen them do the same thing when I have been passing them as they sat on the low limb 

 of a tree. 



As a redeeming trait, however, of the Red-headed Vultures, I must say that Ihey will 

 eat fresh meat when they can get it and I think they prefer it to carrion for they would 



42 



