A Census of the Turkey Vulture in Delaware 



BY CHARLES J, PENNOCK 



So far as the writer has found there has been but little pub- 

 lished on efforts at an enumeration of the individuals of any 

 species of birds, resident in any extended territor3\ In Illinois 

 a few years ago there was a careful bird census reported,^ and 

 various writers have mentioned points bearing on this subject.* 

 It is obvious that the larger birds may be counted with more 

 accurate results. They are to be seen farther and hereabouts 

 are fewer in numbers. 



My notes on the occurrence of the Turkey Vulture in Dela- 

 ware extend over several years and may prove of interest. 

 The deductions are probably subject to criticism, but are in- 

 tended to be conservative. The territory covered is for the 

 most part level, except in the extreme northern part (less than 

 one-tenth of the total area of the state), and there the species 

 are less numerous than elsewhere in Delaware. Many of these 

 notes were taken from railway trains and trolleys, but this bird 

 is so readily recognized even at a long distance that there is little 

 chance for an error in identification. Probably this would hold 

 true for comparatively few species of birds. It will be noted 

 that the count in winter sometimes equals or exceeds that for 

 warmer weather. This may not exactly reflect actual condi- 

 tions, as in May and June incubation takes place and fewer 

 birds would be moving; in summer more dense foliage would 

 usually interfere with a full count. Nevertheless, this bird is 

 strictly resident throughout the state, unless there is a slight 

 increase in the colder weather from birds that drifted north- 

 ward in summer, Delaware being almost the northern breeding 



' An Ornithological Cross Section of Illinois in Autumn. Bull, of the 111. 

 State Lab. of N. Hist. , Vol. VII, Article IX, April, 1907, byS. A. Forbes, Ph.D. 



' Knight, Birds of Maine, 1898, pp. 236-237, and p. 348. Wilson Bulle- 

 tin, No. 14, etc. 



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