CATHARTIDES : AMERICAN VULTURES. 557 



amounts of the dark and white colors ; young darker, the upper parts \^'ithout the white 

 crescents. Bill blackish, bluing at base and on cere ; feet grayish-blue ; claws black ; iris 

 yellower red. Length 2 feet or rather less; extent about 41 feet; wing 17.50-31.50; tail 

 8.50-10.50; tarsus 2.25; middle toe without claw 1.75; chord of culmen without cere 1.30; 

 chord of claws nearly the same. Nearly cosmopolitan ; entire temperate N. Am., over inland 

 waters and especially along the sea-coasts, migratory, abundant. Few birds are better known 

 than this industrious fishennan, so often the purveyor perforce of the bald eagle. Breeds 

 anywhere in its range; nest bulky, finally acquiring enormous dimensions by yearly repairs and 

 additions, placed usually in a tree or stout bush, sometimes on rocks or the ground ; sometimes 

 hundreds together. Eggs usually laid in May, 2 or 3 in number, very variable in size, say 

 2.50X1.75, running through all the variations in color common to hawks' eggs, from a white to 

 creamy, tawny or reddish ground, from few brownish markings to heaviest blotching with 

 sienna, umber, bistre and sepia ; coloration usually richly reddish or mahogany. Some nests 

 grow to be 6 or 8 feet in diameter, and as much in depth, and smaller birds, such as purple 

 grackles, frequently buUd theirs in the interstices of the mass. 



8. Suborder CATHARTIDES : American Vultures. 



As already stated (page 497), the characters of this group are of more than family value, 

 for which I lately proposed the above name (New England Bird Life, vol. ii, p. 135). In no 

 event have these birds anything to do with the Old World vultures, which scarcely form a sub- 

 family apart from Falconidcs. In a certain sense, they represent the gallinaceous type of 

 structure ; our species of Cathourtes, for instance, bears a curious superficial resemblance to a 

 turkey. They lac!» the strength and spirit of typical Baptores, and rarely attack animals 

 capable of oifering resistance ; they are voracious and indiscriminate gormandizers of carrion 

 and animal refuse of all sorts — efficient and almost indispensable scavengers in the warm 

 countries where they abound. They are uncleanly in their mode of feeding ; the nature of 

 their food renders them ill-scented, and when disturbed they eject the foetid contents of the crop. 

 Although not truly gregarious, they assemble in multitudes where food is plenty, and some 

 species breed in communities. When gorged, they appear heavy and indisposed to exertion, 

 usually passing the period of digestion motionless, in a listless attitude, with the wings half- 

 spread. But they spend much of the'.time on wiag, circling high in the air ; their flight is easy 

 and graceful in the extreme, and capable of being indefinitely protracted. On the ground, 

 they habitually walk instead of progressing by leaps. Possessing no vocal apparatus, these 

 vultures are almost mute, emitting only a weak hissing sound. 



33. Family CATHARTID-^ : American Vultures. 



See page 497. Head, and part of the neck, more or less completely bare of feathers, 

 sometimes caruncular ; eyes flush with the side of the head, not overshadowed by a super- 

 ciliary shield ; ears small and simple. Bill lengthened, contracted toward the base, moderately 

 hooked and comparatively weak. Nostrils very large, completely perforated, through lack oi 

 a bony septum. Wings very long, ample, and strong; tail moderate. Anterior toes long for 

 this order, webbed at base ; hind toe elevated, very short ; claws comparatively lengthened, 

 obtuse, little curved and weak. To these external characters, which distinguish our vultures, 

 I may add, that there are numerous osteological peculiarities. A lower larynx is not de- 

 veloped. The capacious gullet dilates into an immense crop. Coeca are wanting. The caro- 

 tids are double. The feathers lack an aftershaft ; the plumage is sombre and unvaried ; its 

 changes are slight ; the sexes are alike, aud the ? is not larger than the ,J , The famous 

 Condor of the Andes, Sarcorhhmphus gryphus ; the King Vulture, Gyparchus papa, which 

 probably occurs in Arizona, and species of the three following genera, compose the family. 



