THE CALIFORNIA VULTURE. 159 



If, as Mr. Parkhurst states, these birds are still common in Monterey County, 

 it is undoubtedly due to the breaking up of the large cattle ranches and their 

 conversion into small farms. Poison, which has been resorted to on most of the 

 larger stock ranches to kill the carnivora, has certainly almost exterminated the 

 California Vulture as well, and in more than one locality, where they were 

 formerly abundant, their very perceptible decrease is, in rny opinion, mainly 

 due to this cause. 



Mr. William R. Flint writes me as follows about this species: "I am sorry 

 that I cannot give you any reliable information as to the nesting habits of these 

 birds. I feel confident, however, that they nested not far from my home in San 

 Benito County. I have seen many of these birds there, and my brother claims 

 to have seen some young ones among a group of six or seven old ones. The 

 last time I was at home, in the spring of 1889, I searched for their nests, but 

 failed to find any. I saw sevei'al of these birds about, and as a rule they 

 associate with the Turkey Buzzards, and generally fly much higher, so that to 

 an ordinary observer they appear nearly of the same size. The largest num- 

 ber I have ever seen at one time during late years was in the summer of 

 1884, when I saw fourteen together, and these allowed me to approach within 

 30 yards of them. 



"I remember one Vulture which had its roosting place in an old, half-dead 

 white oak, thickly surrounded by brush and smaller trees. Here he roosted 

 regularly every evening, always appearing by sundown, and usually just before. 

 He was a late riser, as I have seen him there more than once when the sun was 

 two hours high. In this respect they are very much like the Turkey Vulture. 

 I never saw any others roosting in or near this tree. They will often so gorge 

 themselves with food as to be unable to rise from the ground and fly, and I 

 have passed within a few yards of them in a buggy and they would make 

 no effort to get away. 



"A vaquero on the ranch lassoed one a few years ago with his riata when 

 it was overgorged with food, and brought it to San Juan, where it was kept 

 chained to one of the adobe pillars in the old mission church. It would 

 show fight on slight provocation, and utter a hoarse, hissing sound when dis- 

 turbed, flapping its wings violently at the same time. 



"I have talked with two parties who claim to have seen nests of these 

 birds. In one instance the nest was placed on a high rugged rock on a cliff, 

 along one of the forks of the San Joaquin River, the other was discovered 

 in a timber tract of the Santa Cruz Mountains, by an old wood-chopper. 

 This nest was said to have been a huge affair, and was placed on the first 

 large limb of a redwood tree, about 75 feet from the ground and close to 

 the trunk. His camp being near this tree, he had a good chance to 

 observe the birds, and says the young, of which there were two, were nearly 

 three weeks learning to fly, after being large enough to leave the nest and 

 crawl out on the limbs. When they finally left the nest they flew over the 

 canon to a rocky cliff on the opposite side, about a quarter of a mile distant. 



