BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES 
281 
Plate XLyilL 
CATHARTES AUEA, (Linn.) Illig. 
Turkey Buzzard. 
Few species, if any, have such a wide distribution in America as the 
Turkey Buzzard. It is found more or less abundantly to the Saskatch- 
ewan, throughout North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, 
and in all portions of South America as far south as the Strait of 
Magellan. Individuals have been observed in Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick, though these birds are generally uncommon north of Central 
New Jersey. From Eastern Maine, in the neighborhood of Calais, to 
Connecticut, specimens have been occasionally captured. In a single in- 
stance Mr. Lawrence observed a small company of nine at Rockaway, 
Long Island. West of the Alleghanies, from Central America nearly to 
the Arctic regions, it occurs more abundantly. Without exception it is 
found in greater or less numbers in all the Middle, Western, Southern and 
Northwestern States. From Lower California to Washington Territory, 
along the Pacific, numerous parties attest to its common occurrence. In 
the West Indies, the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad, the last- 
named in particular, include it within their faunae. In Honduras and 
Guatemala, as well as in the Falkland Islands, off the eastern coast of 
Patagonia, they are common permanent residents. 
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the writer has had many 
oirportunities for studying the species, these Vultures summer quite plen- 
tifully. From their first appearance in March, large numbers may be 
seen, high up in the air, moving in large circles, apjiarently exploring the 
ground below for their favorite articles of food. In rural districts they 
