SHUFELDT. OSTEOLOGY OF THE CATHARTID2. 735 
through many causes, chief among which is its destruction by poisoned 
flesh and careasses thrown out by the cattle-owners of the countries it in- 
habits, to destroy the wolves and bears. Then, too, it no doubt, being a 
bird not difficult to approach, forms a good target for many a hunter who 
chances to meet it with rifle in hand, and happens to be ambitious to add 
to his record the fact of having slain the largest bird in North America. 
For Cathartes aura we have numerous skeletons and parts of skeletons 
obtained from various sources, some from the Smithsonian collection, 
others from the Army Medical Museum, and one or two from my own 
cabinet, obtained by myself while in the territorial districts of the inte- 
rior. We have already stated that we lack any osseous material from 
the two remaining species of this genus, C. burrovianus and C. pernigra, 
and are of the opinion that the skeletons of these birds are not to be 
found in any of the collections in this country. 
Lastly, Catharista atrata is represented by several good skeletons and 
many crania and separate bones, placed at our disposal by the institu- 
tions above mentioned, being amply sufficient for the purposes of de- 
scription and comparison with the other members of the family. In 
addition, we have before us a good skeleton of Gypogeranus serpenta- 
rius, one very complete mounted skeleton of Neophron percnopterus, 
from Abyssinia, from the collection of the Army Medical Museum, and 
finally a mass of odds and ends of skeletons of Hawks, Eagles, and Fal- 
cons, that bear more or less upon the discussion of such a subject as 
we have undertaken, the majority of which latter material we are deeply 
indebted to the kindness of Professor Baird, and the exertions of Mr. 
Ridgway, in the way of selection. 
In the matter of plates, we trust we have laid a sufficient number 
before our reader to thoroughly illustrate all we have to say in the text, 
and the author assures you that he has not spared his pains in choos- 
ing subjects such as he deemed would best fulfill the end in view. Per- 
haps Pseudogryphus in this choice has taken the lion’s share, but we 
must remember that in extenuation of this claim our Californian Vul- 
ture will soon be reckoned among the birds that were, and life-size 
portraits of the bones of his skeleton will be ranked among those of the 
famed Dodo, and the great Auk. His cranium and the outline sketch 
of the metacarpus are from my own pencil, but the remainder of the 
bones of his skeleton. are from photographs taken at the Army Medical 
Museum, under my own supervision, and are all life-size. The skullof 8. 
gryphus was kindly drawn for me by Dr. J. C. McConnell, of the Army 
Medical Museum, to whom science is so much indebted for illustrations 
in so many of its branches. In another plate we present an entire skel- 
eton of G. papa from a photograph and reduced to one-third of its size; 
this figure shows well the towt ensemble of the bones of the skeleton in one 
of our typical Vultures, as well as the relations of size:and position of 
these bones as compared with each other. It is the Equador specimen 
referred to above. The two plates, figuring three views of the cranium 
of C. aura, with two views of its sternum and its furculum and remainder 
of scapular arch, are India ink productions of the writer’s, being drawn 
from a fine specimen of this bird, secured by him in the Laramie range 
of hills in Wyoming. The remainder of the figures are life-size views 
of the subjects they represent, from photographs taken at the Army 
Medical Museum, and are very accurate conceptions of the bones they 
depict. Their detailed descriptions must, however, be deferred until 
we come to describe the parts of the various skeletons from which they 
were taken. ; 
Upon viewing the skeleton of one of these birds for the first time, 
