

SOCIABLE VULTURE. -O'^OOT-is aurioul&ris. 



The adult Turkey Buzzard is rather a large bird, measuring two feet six inches 

 in lengih, and six feet ten inches across the expanded wings. Tlie weight is about five 

 pounds. The general colour of the plumage is black, mingled with brown, the secondaries 

 being slightly tipped with white, and a few of the coverts edged with the same tint. On 

 the neck, the back, the shoulders, and the scapularies, the black hue is shot with bronze, 

 green, and purple. Beneath the thick plumage is a light coating of soft white dov.^n, 

 which apparently serves to preserve the creature at a proper temperature. The bare 

 skin of the neck is not as wrinkled as in the zopilote, and the feathers make a complete 

 ring round the neck. There is but little difference in the plumage of the two sexes, but 

 the bill of the male is pure white. 



We now arrive at the true Vultures, the first of which is the common Arabian 

 VuLTUEE, a bird which is spread over a very large portion of the globe, being found in 

 various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 



It is a large bird, measuring nearly four feet in length, and tlie expansion of its 

 wings being proportionately wide. The general colour of this species is a chocolate 



