378 CATHARTID^, AMERICAN VULTURES. 



irig of bitter disappointment, as tlae majestic birds disappeared in the 

 distance, and with them went the opportunity of identifying them, mar- 

 ring the pleasure I experienced at being the first to observe the unques- 

 tionable occurrence within our limits of some Vulture, probably a Sar- 

 corhampus, not recognized as an inhabitant of our country. I cannot 

 MOW refer the birds to any species known to me, unless, possibly, they 

 were S.papa; but this is tawny or fulvous below, not white. I desire 

 to signalize the occurrence the more particularly, since the birds may 

 have been of a species unknown to naturalists. 



I cannot close this account without giving insertion to an article by 

 Mr. A. S. Taylor, that appeared in the San Francisco Herald for April 

 — , 1859. It is quite worthy of being rescued from its precarious situa- 

 tion in floating literature. I copy the account (somewhat abbreviated) 

 without further comment, merely premising that, of course, there is 

 some mistake about the "four wings": 



" The Queleli, a rare Mrcl of Sonora. — From the descriptions of some 

 of our friends we are placed iu possession of some curious facts relating 

 to the habits and characteristics of this rare and highly curious bird. 

 An intelligent Sonoraian of Oquitoa, near Alta, in Sonora, who resided 

 in (Jalifornia several years, gave me the following facts at Monterey, in 

 1855. It inhabits particularly the Pimeria Alta and Baja, the Papago- 

 ria, the Optaria, the Apaeharia, and other Indian and little-known 

 mountain districts of Sonora, Durango, and Sinaloa to the east and 

 south. It is called " Queleli" by the Indians, who have a great venera- 

 tion for it. Its weight is from 8 to 10 lbs. The beak is hard and curved 

 sharply down ; its color, bright lemon ; the iris is pink or light red. On 

 the crown of the head it has a fleshy caruncle or comb of black and 

 white, which forms like a cravat, and also hangs on both sides of the 

 head, and which is bare of feathers. The skin of the chops and cheeks 

 is mottled black and white ; the neck feathers are black, with a ring of 

 white feathers below, forming a ruff', like a circle of swan's-down on a 

 lady's tippet; the back is striped black and white lengthwise of the 

 bird ; the ends of the wing-feathers are tipped with white ; the tail 

 feathers are striped and tipped the same as the wings; the under sur- 

 faces of the wings are barred in the same way ; the wings measure from 

 12 to 18 inches long from the joint at the body [qu. carpus!] ; the chest, 

 belly, and lower part of the body are of lemon-colored feathers ; the 

 legs and feet are also yellow, with four toes, armed with black and very 

 sharp claws. The female bird is of smaller size, the colors similar, but 

 more subdued. The eggs are reddish [?] and mottled black, sharply 

 peaked, and weigh about 2 ounces. They make their nests in the highest 

 trees of the mountain sides and peaks, and always go in couples, and 

 never in flocks. When they rise from the ground they make a whirring, 

 rushing noise, moving very fast. They raise two young in a year, gen- 

 erally male and female ; when young the plumage is yellow, black, and 

 white. The full-grown birds are about the size of the common Turkey 

 Buzzard. They are seen at times turning over and over in the air, in 

 quick motions, whence the Indians have a superstition that they breed 

 in the air. The Indians also say that the male bird breaks the egg to 

 let the chick out. They eat dead animals, or those lately killed. The 

 tongue is red, and has a spinous process on the under part shaped like 

 a pen, said by the Indians to be used in making a loud whirring noise 

 when it rises from the ground. They eat very fast, and all other car- 

 nivorous birds hold them iu great fear. My informant says it is most 

 abundant in the Alta Pimeria, of which the Gadsden purchase forms a 

 portion. [This is now in Arizona ; and compare, also, the colors of the 



