THE OOLOGIST. 



20 



criptiou of the male ivory-bill niaj' prove 

 acceptable to those who may never be able 

 to see even a stiiifed specimen of a bud, 

 which, taken in every way, is, jserhaps, the 

 most interesting and beautiful in America. 

 In size, 21 inches leng,and 33 in alar extent; 

 bill, ivory-white, beautifully fluted above, 

 and two ahd a half inches long; head-tuft, 

 or crest, long and fine, of pure scarlet faced 

 with black. Its body-color is glossy blue- 

 black, but down its slender neck on each 

 side, running from the crest to the back, a 

 pure white stripe contrasts vividly with the 

 scarlet and ebony. A mass of white runs 

 across the back when the wings are closed, 

 as in M. erythrocephalus, leaving the wing- 

 tips and tail black. Its feet are ash-blue, 

 its eyes amber-yellow. The female is like 

 the. male, save that she hes a black crest 

 instead of the scarlet. I can think of 

 nothing in Nature more striking than the 

 flash of color this bird gives to the dreary 

 swamp-landscape, as it careers from tree 

 to tree, or sits upon some high skeleton 

 cypress-branch and plies its resounding 

 blows. The species will probably be ex- 

 tinct within a few years.* — Maueice 

 Thompson, in The Library Magagine. 



* Since writing the foregoing, I have 

 made several excursions in search of the 

 ivory-bill. Early in January^ 1885, I killed 

 a fine male specimen in a swamp near Bay 

 St. Louis, Mississippi; but was prevented, 

 by an accident, from preserving it or mak- 

 a sketch it. 



The Baptores of Michigan. 



BY MOERIS GIBBS, M. D. 



There are known in our State, cither, 

 as residents, transients from the north or 

 south, winter residents and stragglers. 

 Thirtj' species in tLis order; over twenty" 

 ffve of these are well known; one, the 

 Eur'^peau Buzzard, has only once been dis- 

 covered, and several are only rarely record- 

 ed. There are also several species and 

 laces recorded by some catalogues, which 

 the writer has considered hardly tenable in 

 in this list. 



It may be of interest to those interested 



j in geographical distribution, to tbat statu 

 Michigan lies nearly within f(jrty-cne and 

 two-thirds to forty-seven and one-half 

 degrees north latitude, and eighty-two 

 and one-half to ninety, west longitude, thus 

 admitting of the visitation of several noi th- 

 em species unknown to more southern 

 localities . 



My own observations .have been taken 

 in sixteen counties, and cover the sjiace 

 emi raced from the soiithern tier of counties 

 to our northern boundary. In addition to 

 personal notes the writer is .somewhat in- 

 debted to much as a score of published lists, 

 covering a period since 1839, many of which 

 however, are somewhat misleadmg. The 

 assistance of Messrs. B. F. Suke and K. 

 \VilIhelm is thankfully acknowledged for 

 valuable notes on the breeding habits of 

 several species; I am also indebted to 

 others. 



CATHAETIDiE. 



The American Vultures. 



Varthartes aura (Linn) . Turkey Vulture. 

 A straggler from the south. It is not 

 probably found nesting in the State; but 

 to this I cannot attest. Twenty years ago 

 this bird was unknown within our bound- 

 aries and is not embraced in any of the 

 earlier lists of Michigan birds. The first 

 specimen tha,t I have knowledge of was 

 taken in VanBui-en county, in 1872, latitude 

 42 ^ 20 ' north . Since then specimens 

 have been occasionally taken, generally 

 during July and Augi;st . 



During the last two years the species has 

 appeared almost common in localities and 

 as many as seven were observed feasting 

 from the carcass of of an imfortunate 

 sheep. From the apjjarent familiarity of 

 most of the specimens observe 1, it is 

 probable that they came from those 

 regions where, as scavengers, they are never 

 molested. One bird was picked up alive, 

 unwounded, and nearly all were easily ap- 

 proached and shot. 



During the past summer, stock was well 

 up in Turkey Buzzards, and many speci- 

 mens were brought me for which fabulous 

 prices were asked. The birds were deemed 

 rare and rated accordingly ; but two or thioe 



