36 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



on December 17. Nesting begins in the spring early in April (eggs 

 found at Helena April 7) and may continue throughout the summer 

 until September. The food of this species consists mainly of weed 

 seed, which forms about two-thirds of the total, and grain makes 

 up the remainder. The grain eaten is almost entirely waste kernels 

 gleaned from stubble fields. The bird is thus seen to be highly bene- 

 ficial in its food habits and well worthy of protection by the farmer. 



Turkey Vulture. Cathartes aura septentrionalis . 



Turkey buzzards are generally distributed over the State and are 

 equally common in mountains and lowlands. They remain through- 

 out the winter even in the Ozark region (common at Fayetteville) 

 and in some sections are even more abundant at that season than 

 in summer, since their numbers are increased by many birds from the 

 more northern States. 



Nests may be found in hollow logs or stumps in secluded parts of 

 the timbered bottoms or in caves or crevices in rocky bluffs. While 

 exploring a steep bluff along White River at Cotter June 8, I came 

 upon two young buzzards in a cave near the top of the bluff. They 

 were about half grown and were covered with white down. They 

 stood up and hissed at me as long as I remained in sight. As is well 

 known, these birds feed exclusively on carrion, and in warm climates 

 render an important service by removing offensive carcasses. 



Black Vulture. Catharista urubu. 



The black vulture, or carrion crow, is more southern in its dis- 

 tribution than the turkey buzzard and is not usually found much 

 beyond the limits of the Lower Austral Zone. It is generally dis- 

 tributed in the lower parts of the State, though usually less abundant 

 than the turkey buzzard, with which it often associates. 



It remains all winter in some localities and was reported common 

 in January at Crocketts Bluff, when about 100 were seen feeding on 

 a dead horse. * I have observed it at Wilmot, Eldorado, Camden, 

 Stuttgart, Arkansas City, and Walker Lake. Savage has noted 

 it a few times at Delight during June, July, and August. In the 

 Ozark region it occurs locally, having been reported as a common 

 resident at Clinton (Pleas) and at Fayetteville (Harvey). 



Swallow-tailed Kite. Elanoides forficatus. 



This handsome and graceful hawk nests locally in the Mississippi 

 Valley, but is nowhere very common and is growing scarcer every 

 year. Widmann speaks of it as "a regular, though not numerous, 

 summer resident" in the cottonfield region of southeastern Missouri, 

 but I failed to find any there in 1909, nor did I observe the bird in 



i "Byrne" [D. B. Wier], Forest and Stream, XX, p. 45, 1883. 



