348 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



illtistratinj,' the ])eculiai' fli<;lit of this species, Dr. Xewlii'iry nii'iitions Unit, 

 hii\in<,' occasion to shout one lor tlie inirpose of tletovinininj,' its identity, tlic 

 woiuuk'il l)ir(l niiidc no motion indicatinj;- it imd heen struck by tlie shot, but 

 sailed on witli widely expanded and motionless \vin,^s as before; gradually it 

 " began to descend in wide and regular circles, till iinally, without a wing- 

 tlap, it settled as lightly as a I'l'atiier on the jmiirie, and remained motion- 

 less." Upon going to the bird. Dr. Newberry found it resting in the grass, 

 the wings still widely and evenly expanded, but the head drooping and life 

 extinct. 



In the Southern States this Vulture is found eiiually in cities and largo 

 villages, and near the coast, as well as in the interior, in comjiany with the 

 iUack Vulture (C. (dratus), although the latter species is chietly confined to 

 the coast, and is rare in the interior. It is noticeable that in (Juatemala and 

 Honduras its habits are somewjiat different in these respects, being only 

 found in wihl ))laces, leaving the cities and sea-coast to the exclusive occu- 

 pancy ol' the 151ack X'ulture. Mr. (i. C Taylor, who observed these birds in 

 Kingston, Jamaica, states that they were the only species seen, and that they 

 were always to lie found either on the roofs of the houses or feeding on the 

 carrion in the streets. They made great noise with their feet as they clat- 

 tered over the shingles of the roofs. 



In Trinidad, where Mr. E. C Taylor found this bird much less numerous 

 than the (driituA, it kept to the ojien country, and was not found in the 

 towns. He could always readily distinguish it by its more graceful ilight 

 and its aijuiline ajijjearance. They were generally to be seen skimming 

 over the tree-tops, as if trying how near they could go without touching. 

 On the Orinoco, though more numerous than in Trinidad, they did not 

 freriuent tiie towns in the same familiar manner witli the IJlack A'ulture. 



The Turkey-Uuzzards, as well as the Black Vultures, are evidently aided by 

 a very ])owerful sight in distinguishing their food at a great distance. They 

 are freipiently known to collect in large nundiers, from great distances, 

 around the dead liodies of animals, where none were in sight before. But it 

 seems equally certain that they are also assisted by an only less powerful 

 sense of smell. Mr. Hill, cited by Mr. Gosse, mentions a remarkable instance 

 where these Vultures were attracttnl by a strong smell of carrion to the 

 house of a (iennan emigrant, lying sick of a fever, and where his neglected 

 food had become olfensive. In this instance the sense of smell, unaided by 

 that of sight, must have guided these birds. 



ISIr. O. (,'. Taylor, wliile residing at Kingston, often used to puzzle the 

 Vultures by throwing dried bird-skins stuH'ed with cotton out upon an 

 adjacent roof. Few .seconds would ela])se before a Vulture would pounce 

 n]ion tlii'm, and manifest a great disappointment in finding notiiing to eat in 

 skins of so promising an ajjiiearanco. He once \vra])ped the carcass of a bird 

 in a ])iece of paper, and threw it into the top of a thickly leaved tree near 

 his window. There it remaiued for a long while, the Vultures sweeping 



