THE KING OF THE VULTURES. 163 



and fades into orange and yellow as it descends towards 

 the lower part. The legs and claws are generally of a 

 dusky black ; but sometimes the former are reddish, 

 and sometimes, as in our specimen, of a dirty yellowish 

 white. 



The young bird of the year, according to M. D'Azara, 

 is entirely of a deep bluish tint, excepting the abdomen 

 and lateral tail-coverts, which are white. In the second 

 year it assumes a dusky hue, marked by long white 

 spots. Up to this period, the greater part of the head 

 and neck is blackish violet. In the third year it assumes 

 its adult colouring, with the exception of a few black 

 feathers among the upper wing-coverts. 



The range of this fine species of Vulture is rather 

 extensive. M. Bonaparte enumerates it among the 

 birds of the United States, and we believe that it is 

 occasionally met with in Florida, which is probably its 

 northern limit. Towards the south, M. D'Azara de- 

 scribes it as common in Paraguay, but says that it does 

 not pass the thirty-second degree of latitude. In the 

 intermediate countries it would seem to be extremely 

 abundant. Many travellers mention it as congregating 

 in large flocks in various parts of Mexico, where it 

 appears to have been first noticed by Navarrete, and 

 was soon after described by Hernandez under the native 

 name of Cozcaquauhtli. Its more usual name, however, 

 in that country, seems to be Tzopilotl, literally King of 

 the Vultures. In Guiana it bears, according to Sonnini, 

 a title exactly synonymous ; and in Parao;uay, according 

 to D'Azara, that of Iribvirubicha, signifying the same 

 thing. This uniformity of appellation is evidently de- 

 rived from the universality of the belief that the other 

 Vultures pay a particular respect to this species, aban- 

 doning their prey to it, whenever it makes its appear- 

 ance among them. But such a cession, as D'Azara 



M 2 



