256 Life and Immortality. 
wide-spreading cactus branches or underneath low bushes 
in the midst of tall grasses in level saline marshes. 
In the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C., Dr. C. Kollock met with 
the black vulture and our present species in swamps and dense 
forests, where they congregate in vast numbers throughout 
the entire year. These places are commonly designated 
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; but, contrary to what has always been enter- 
tained, 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. In certain 
localities, where the birds are not very common, paired indi- 
viduals are not infrequently found. 
Two eggs generally constitute a nest-full, although instances 
are known where but a single egg was deposited. On the 
Falkland Islands they are said to lay three occasionally. In 
the West Indies, especially in the Bahamas, the complement 
is the same as in the United States, and there does not seem 
to be any difference in the habits of the birds in the two 
places. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, Florida and 
South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are vari- 
ously marked with shades of brown, intermingled with 
splashes of lavender and purple, which are often so faint as 
to be perceptible only upon close examination. 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. 
Recently we have met with some from Texas answering the 
