GEN. IV. CATHARTES Illiger (1811). 

 Type by subs, desig. (Vigors 1825) Vuliur aura L. 



Tail rounded. 



t*4. Cathartes aura aura (Linn.), S.N., i., p. 86 

 (1758). [America calidiore : type loc. 

 subst. Vera Cruz, Mexico, apud Nelson.] 

 Turkey Vulture. 



Wing 500-530 (<? largest) ; tail 253-270 ; 

 tarsus 59 mm. ; crown whitish ; head and 

 neck dark reddish purple to Ught crimson 

 (in life) ; iris brown ; plumage brownish 

 black, with metalhc reflections on mantle 

 and chest ; wing coverts chiefly brown. 



N. America : 

 53° N. in Cana- 

 da to Mexico 

 and Guatemala ; 

 Bahamas, Cuba, 

 Jamaica. 



4a. Cathartes aura meridionalis,^ subsp. nov. 

 [nom. nov. Cathartes aura aura (Linn.) 

 ed. 1, et auct. plur. Type loc. sugg. 

 Colombia']. 

 S. American Turkey- Vulture. 



Larger, wing 530-550 (example from Colom- 

 bia in B.M. coll. 550 mm.) ; tail 292, 

 tarsus 74 mm. ; plumage averaging blacker. 



W. South 

 America, from 

 Colombia to 

 Peru, N. Chile 

 and Argentina 

 (S. to Rio 

 Negro?). 



4b. Cathartes aura insularis subsp. nov. [ad. Cozumel I., 

 Cozumel I., Yucatan, 1885, G. F. Gaumer, Yucatan. 

 B.M. reg. no. 87, 5, 1, 962, type in Brit. 

 Mus., descr. in Biol. Centr. Amer.] 

 Cozumel Turkey- Vulture. 



Much smaller ; wing 470-505 (type, not 

 sexed, ? ?, 475 mm.) ; plumage much 



'^ It being apparent that Linnaeus described the N. American and not the- 

 S. American race, the former becomes the typical form and the name septentrionalis 

 (Wied) must be dropped. Lack of material renders it doubtful if the examples: 

 found in Western S. America are really distinct, but as they certainly average larger 

 and a trifle blacker I have felt it convenient to maintain the separation with a changer 

 of name. 



