Turkey-Vulture 163 
obtuse ; hind toe slightly elevated above the level of 
the others. 
Genus CATHARTES. 
Characters of the family: tarsus long, naked and covered with 
reticulated scales. 
Several species of Turkey-Vultures are recognized, but only one occurs 
in the United States. 
Turkey-Vulture. Cathartes aura septentrionalis, 
A.O.U. Checklist no 325—Colorado Records—Allen 72, pp. 152, 159, 
181; Tresz 81, p. 188; Drew 81, p. 141; 85, p.17; Allen & Brewster 
83, p. 197; Beckham 85, p. 143 ; Morrison 88, p. 139; 89, p. 7; Lowe 
92, p. 101; 94; p. 267; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 73 ; Henderson 05, p. 235 ; 
09, p. 229; Warren 06, p. 20; 08, p. 20; 09,p. 14; Gilman 07, p. 154; 
Markman 07, p. 156; Rockwell 08, p. 161; Hersey & Rockwell 09, 
p. 116. 
Description.—Adult—Plumage black throughout, glossy in parts, 
and some of the feathers edged with dark brown; wing and tail-feathers 
ashy below ; iris brown, bill white, head and neck naked but for a few 
bristles, crimson to pale carmine; feet flesh-coloured. Length 27; 
wing 20-0; tail 10-5; culmen with cere 2-0; tarsus 2-25. 
The female resembles the male, but is slightly smaller ; young birds 
are darker than adults and have the bill and skin of head dark; 
nestlings are covered with white down. 
Distribution.—From, southern New England, Manitoba and British 
Columbia southwards to the Mexican border, where it merges with a 
smaller subspecies found throughout Central America and the West 
Indies. 
In Colorado the Turkey-Vulture is a fairly common summer resident, 
both in the plains and mountains up to 12,000 feet, at which elevation 
it was noted by Morrison in La Plata co., and by Lowe in the Wet 
Mountains. It is specially abundant, according to Rockwell, in the 
Plateau Valley of Mesa co., where it arrives normally about April 15th, 
though at a lower elevation at Grand Junction it has been seen as early 
as March 18th and as late as September 27th. To the east of the 
mountains it arrives about the same time. Other localities are : Weld 
co. (Markman), Boulder co. (Henderson), Barr, not uncommon (Hersey 
& Rockwell), El Paso and Fremont cos. (Aiken coll.), Baca, Las 
Animas and Routt cos. (Warren) ; it appears to be generally distributed. 
Habits—The Turkey-Vulture, more commonly known 
as the “ Buzzard ” or “ Turkey-Buzzard,” is a carrion 
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