Plate XXXIX. 



Fig. S. CATHAR7ES AURA-Turkey Buzzard. 



The Turkey Buzzard is common in the summer thi'oughout the state, and even in winter some arc 

 usually to be seen in the central and southern portions on days, which, considering the season, might 

 be called warm. The majority, however, go south upon the approach of the first real cold weather, and 

 return as early in the spring as the temperature will permit. The place for the nest is selected the 

 latter part of March, and in a w^eek or two from this time the eggs are deposited. 



LOCALITY: 



Tlie nest is in a tree or upon the ground beside a tree, stump, or log, not many miles from the place 

 where the pair usually roosts. Most frequently it is in a cavernous sycamore stump, or the hollow in a 

 log or limb, in woods which border a creek or river. Sometimes it is in most unexpected places in dense 

 upland woods, either upon the ground, in a stump, log, or tree. 



POSITION: 



When the nest is above ground it is usually between five and fifteen feet to the cavity, and some- 

 times seventy or eighty feet. In perpendicular trunks the eggs are from three to six or eight feet -below 

 the entrance, and in horizontal limbs they are, at times, ^ve to ten feet from the doorway. 



MATERIALS : 



No materials for the nest are carried into the cavity, but the decayed wood, which is usually 

 abundant in the place selected, is loosened and scratched about until a suitable floor is formed to hold 

 the eggs. Nests upon the ground are made among dead leaves and grass, and sometimes small sticks, 

 bark, and moss. No materials are gathered by the bird, and often the natural arrangement of the grass 

 and leaves is not disturbed. It has been stated, by several w'riters, that bulky nests of sticks and leaves 

 are built upon the ground. In the Southwestern States this may be the rule, but in Ohio no materials 

 for the nest are ever carried by tlie Turkey Buzzard. 



EGGS: 



Two eggs are the most I have seen in one nest, and sometimes only one is laid. Tlie ground-color 

 is creamy or greenish-gray; the shell is dull and marked with blotches, spots, and speckles of various 

 shades of chocolate-brown, distributed over the whole egg, but most abundant at the base. They arc not 

 often much confluent. Deep shell-marks are purplish. There is but little variation in the markings. In 

 long-diameter they measure from 2.56 to 3.03; in short-diameter, from 1.80 to 2.00. The largest speci- 

 men before me measures 3.01 x 1.80; the smallest, 2.58 x 1.90. The usual size is about 2.71 x 1.82. 



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