Turkey Buzzard. 257 
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. 
Cathartes aura, as the Turkey Buzzard is known by the 
scientific naturalist, is far from being demonstrative in the 
expression of her feelings. When her home is assailed, she 
makes no ado, but quietly slips out, and seemingly contem- 
plates its desecration with indifference. 
Though manifesting a passive disposition in the face of 
human interference, yet she is not always the gentle being 
she would have us believe, as shown by the spirit of domi- 
nancy she displays over her own household. 
Unlike many of her neighbors, she does not entirely 
assume the responsibilities of brood-raising, permitting her 
partner the happy enjoyment of a life of luxurious ease, but, 
believing in the doctrine of a proper division of labor, forces 
upon him his share of the work. 
Whilst she thus appears unduly exacting towards him, she 
is equally so to her offspring. Few mothers know better 
than she the right training of their children, so as to fit them 
to become useful and respectable members of society. 
This is no figment of the imagination, as will presently be 
seen. It was while exploring a section of Delaware County 
of this State for minerals in the summer of 1894 that some 
interesting facts were learned of the relation subsisting 
between her and the rest of her family. 
Having accidentally strayed upon a young ground hog 
which had but recently been killed, the writer resolved to 
carry it home and place it where it could be seen or scented 
by the Buzzards, so that he might have an opportunity of 
making a more intimate acquaintance with these birds than 
he had ever before been able to make. 
Accordingly the dead animal was transported to a 
meadow overlooked by the house he was occupying. The 
resolution was well taken, for on the fourth day after the 
deposit had been made several Buzzards were seen circling 
