BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
285 
In the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C., Dr. C. Kollock, as mentioned by 
Brewer, met with the Black and our present species as quite frequent deni- 
zens of the interior of swamps and dense forests, where they congregate in 
vast numbers during the entire year. These places are commonly desig- 
nated Buzzards’ roosts. Audubon once visited one of these roosts in the 
vicinity of Charleston, which covered more than two acres of ground, and 
which was completely denuded of vegetation. On the banks of many of 
the rivers of Southern Texas, Mr. Dresser found them nesting in large 
numbers, the timber along their borders constituting comfortable and 
secure shelter. Contrary to what has always been entertained, he affirms 
that they build large and bulky nests of sticks, which they place at great 
heights in an oak or cypress, close by the river-banks. Captain C. C. 
Abbott says that in the Falkland Islands the eggs are deposited in the 
midst of bushes beneath high banks, or on the summits of decayed balsam 
logs, during the early part of November, either upon the ground, or on the 
bare surface of a log. In certain localities, where the birds are not very 
common, paired individuals are frequently met with. 
The eggs are generally two in number, although instances are known 
where but a single one is deposited. On the Falkland Islands they are 
said to lay three occasionally. In the West Indies, especially in the 
Bahama group, the nest-complement is the same as in the United States, 
and there does not seem to be any difference in the habits of the birds 
that abound in the latter country. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, 
and South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are variously marked 
with divers shades of brown, intermingled with splashes of lavender and 
purple, which are often so faint as only to be perceptible upon close 
inspection. Brewer mentions a variety from near Cheraw, S. C., that was 
nearly pure white, and which showed but a few small red and slightly 
purplish lines and dots about the larger extremity. Decently, we have 
met with some from Texas answering the same description. In dimensions 
these eggs vary but little, and have, on the average, a length of 2.78 
inches, and a width of 2.00, or rather less. 
