380 CATHAETES AURA, TURKEY BUZZARD. 



iii, 1862, J57 (same instance).— S.oi., App. Secy's. Rep. Agric. ilass. 1863, p. 

 xviii (Massachusetts ; two instances).— Allen, Pr. Ess. Inst, iv, 1864, 81 (same 

 instances).— GnRN., Cat. Rapt. B. 1864, 42.— Dress., Ibis, 186.5, 322 (Texas).— 

 GUNDL., Eep. 1865,221 (Cuba).— CoUES, Pr. Ess. Inst, v, 1868, 253 (New England 

 instances).— MclLWR., Pr. Ess. Inst, v, 1866, 80 (Canada West).— Lawk., Ann. 

 Lye. N. Y. viii, 1866, 280 (New York).- ScL., P. Z. S. 1867, 589 (Para) ; 1868, 

 569 (Peru).— CouES, Pr. Host. Soc. 1868, 120 (South Carolina).— Pelz., Orn. 

 Bras, i, 1868, p. — .— Allex, Jlem. Bost. Soc. i, 1868, 499, 526 (Iowa, and resi- 

 dent in Indiana).— TruxB., B. E. Pa. 1869, 5 (resident).— Reixh., Vid. Med. 

 IttTO, 61 (Brazil).- Coues, Pr. Phila. Acad. l'-'71,27 (North Carolina).- Tkippe, 

 Pr. Ess. Inst, vi, 1871, 113 (Minnesota, breeding, and in December).— Allex, 

 Bull. II. C. Z. ii, 1871, 310 (critical) ; iii, 1872, 181 (Florida, Kansas, Colorado, 

 Wyoming, Utah).— Coop., B. Cal. i, 1870, 50^.— Snow, B. Kans. 1873.— CouES, 

 Key, 1872, 222.— Scott, Pr. Bost. Soc. xv, 1872, 229 (West Virginia). 



Catharkta aura, Vieill., Gal. Ols. 1825, pi. 4.— Grait, Hand-list, i, 1869, 3, No. 18. 



Perenopteriis aura, Steph., Gen. Zool. xiii, pt. ii, 1826, 7. 



MkinoijrijpJtua aura, RiDGW.— B. B. & R., N. A. B. iii, 1874, 344. 



VuJtur aura, ,3, Lath., Ind. Orn. 1, 1790, 5. 



FuUur iota, JIolixa, Stor. Chili, 17S2, 265.— Gm., Syst. Nat. i, 1788, 247.— Daud., Tr. 

 Orn. ii, 1800, 20. 



Catkartes iota, Bridg., P. Z. S. ix, 108 ; Ann. Nat. Hist, xiii, 498. 



Cathartes ruficollis, Spix, At. Bras, i, 1824, 2 (quotes Catesby). 



Cathartes septentrionalis, Maxim., Eeise, i, 1839, 162. 



(?) Cathartes falklandicus, Sharpb, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 



Sab. — The whole of the United States and adjoining British Possessions. South 

 through Central and most of South America. Much confusion has prevailed in use of 

 the names aura and iota, notwithstanding the perfectly distiuct (perhaps eveu generic- 

 ally different) characters of the two species — a difficulty which the labors of Mr. Alltn 

 and Mr. Ridgway have done much to remove. It is believed that the synonymy as 

 here collated, based upon the authors just named, as well as substantially upon Strick- 

 land's prior lists, is correct. It should be observed, that aura of earlier authors appar- 

 ently included both species. 



Lieutenant Warren's Expedition. — 4603, Cedar Island, Missouri River. 



Although more particularly an inhabitant of the warmer parts oi 

 America, and most numerous in the Southern States, along with the 

 Black Vulture {G. atmtus), the Turkey Buzzard is nevertheless found all 

 over the United States, and a little way into British America. On the 

 Atlantic coast its ordinary limit is Long Island ; Audubon's data were 

 incomplete in rendering his statement that it is never seen beyond New 

 Jersey. It has been repeatedly observed in Southern New England, 

 and at least once in Maine. Its Xova Scotia record, as remarked by 

 Dr. Bre\s ev, is vague and probably unfounded ; and even its New En- 

 gland occurrences are rare, if not altogether casual. It is included in 

 Mr. Mcllwraith's list of the birds of Hamilton, Canada West, with the 

 remark that it is a regular summer visitor to the extensive flats near 

 Chatham, and along the shores of Lake Saint Clair. In the interior, it 

 regularly goes further north than on the coast. Mr. Trippe found it 

 abundant in Minnesota, where it breeds ; and Sir John Eichardson's 

 well-known record fixes its northern limit at about latitude 53° in the 

 region of the Saskatchewan, where it arrives in June. The highest 

 j)oint where I ever saw it myself, up to the date of present writing, was 

 Fort Eaudall, latitude 43° 11', on the IMissouri. At the close of the 

 most terrific storm of the season of 1872-73, memorable for its severity, 

 five or six birds came sailing over the fort. This was on the loth of 

 April ; none had been observed previously after October, and I do not 

 think it usually passes the inclement season at this point. 



This brings us to consider the resident range of the species, as com- 

 pared with its summer dispersion. It has not been observed to winter 

 on the Atlantic beyond New Jersey, and even in that State is more 

 numerous in .summer than in winter. But at Washington, D. 0., my 

 home for a number of years, where the bird is very common, I noticed 

 no material diminution of its numbers during the colder months. The 



