J]-,4 NORTH AMEltKWN V.Uim. 



Alcxiiiidfr Wilson (Ics.'rilx'.s witli i^Tciit iniiuitciii'ss a sceiiu he witncssi'd 

 lu'iii' ( 'liarli'stoii, wiii'ie tlin I'luva.s.s ut' a Imiso was (Untuned by tlu'si; liinls, 

 tlui ^'ntuad for luiudivds ol' yards around liciiij,' lihudv with tlii-ni. Ho 

 L'oiiutud at 0111! tiiiif two liiiiidicd and tliiity-scvi'ii, wliih; otlicrs won- in tlio 

 air tlyiii,L! around, lie vtiiiturcid witiiin a tow yards ol' tliu horse without 

 their hiediiij,' his jireseiiee. Tliey IVeciUi'iilly atlaclved one aiintlier, li^ditin^' 

 will) their (laws and striking witii tiieir ojieii \vinj,'s, tixiiii,' their daws in 

 each other's liead. They made a iiissiiig siuiiid with ojieii iiKaiths, reseiii- 

 hiiiiL; that jiroiliieed hy tliriisting a red-liot jioker into water, and oeeasionally 

 a siuilliiiig noise, as it eh'ariiig tiieir nostrils. At times one would emerge 

 with a largo fragment, and in a nioinent wonhl he surrounded l>y several 

 others, who would tear it in {lieees and soon cause it to disappear. 



The I'daek Vulture hrceds on or near the ground in the .same manner as 

 the Turkey- 15u/zard, in hollow 1ol;s, decayed tnink,s of trees, and stumps, 

 and also without this proteetion, tlu,- hare earth only being made use oi'. It 

 is .said to make no nest. The eiigs seldom, if ever, e.Ncecd two in numlier. 

 Tlie.se are greater, liotli in their length and capacity, than those of the Turkcy- 

 Euzzard, although the measurements of the birds themselves would seem to 

 show the latter to be apparently the larger bird. The average weight of the 

 Black Vulture's egg, however, is about one ])ound, or fifteen per cent greater 

 than that of the Ihi/.zard. Three from t'liarleston, (Jalveston, and the l!io 

 Grande furnish the foUowing measurements: 8.81 inches by 1.1I4; ;'» by 2.00; 

 3.()() by 1.04. The ]irineipal dill'erence between the eggs of this and the jire- 

 cediiig s]H'cics is in regard to their si/e. Their ground-color is the .same, or 

 nearly the .same, — a yellowish-white or cream-color, almost never a ])uro 

 white, and only in exce])tional cases. The eggs are more elongate in their 

 .shape, and the blotches are usually larger. These are of a dark reddish- 

 brown, conlluent, and cliiefly distributed around the larger end. There are 

 also markings, smaller and less fic(|U(Mit, of lilac and ]iuridish-dral), similar 

 to tho.se noticed in tlie eggs of C (inni. An egg from the Itio Grande is 

 marked with small si)ots of reddish-brown and obscure lilac, equally dis- 

 tributed over the whole surface on a ground of cream-color. 



]\Ir. Audubon is jiositive that this A'ulture never breeds in trees, and that 

 they never build any nest, but deposit their eggs on the ground, on a dead 

 log, or in a hollow tr(>e. Twenty-one days are retjuired for Imtchiiig their 

 eggs, on which the male and female sit by turns and feed each other. The 

 young are covered witii a light cream-colored down, and are fed with regur- 

 gitated food, in tlu! manner of Pigeons. As soon as they are able, tlify 

 follow their ])arents through the Avoods, at which ]K'riod their entire head 

 and neck, which afterwards become bare, are covered with feathers. 



