168 



BUZZARDS— HAWKS- VULTURES. 



Band-tailed Buzzard op Hawk. (Butco zonocercus.) 

 Fig. i5- 



The habitat of this Hawk is Mexico and Guatemala, extending 

 its migrations at times into Arizona and California. Dr. Cooper 

 was the first to meet with this species, having shot one on the 23d 

 of February, 1862, about five miles from the coast, and thirty 

 miles north of San Diego, California. Is was in the company of 

 other Hawks wintering in that State, and seemed to him to be a 

 rather sluggish and tame bird. Dr. Coues obtained a single speci- 

 men on the Gila River, and it is by him regarded as being restricted 

 within our borders to the warm valley of the Gila and Lower 

 Colorado. 



Ferrugineous Buzzard; California Squirrel Hawk. (Archibutco ferru- 



gineus.) 



Fig. 16. 



This is believed to be the handsomest of our hawks inhabiting 

 Western North America. It was first described by Professor 

 Lichtenstein, a Prussian naturalist. Dr. Coues says: 



" This bird is known as the 'California Squirrel Hawk' in some 

 localities, but it is not to be inferred that they often capture the agile 

 aboreal Sciuri. The name is gained from their feeding extensively, 

 in California, upon the ' ground squirrels' (Sfermofhilus beecheyi), 

 which abound in many parts of that State. The Hawks are al- 

 most always, too, observed in the vicinity of the settlements of 

 the Sfermophili) standing on the ground where there are no trees, 

 or flying low over the surface, in either case on the alert to seize 

 any unlucky animal that may venture too far from home. They 

 are also said to perch in wait at the entrance of the burrows, ready 

 to clutch the first animal that shows his nose above ground. 



"According to my observations in the West, the Ferrugineous 

 Buzzards have no partiality for watery places, thus differing from 

 the eastern Roughlegs. About Fort Whipple, the birds mostly re- 

 sorted to the open plains and the grassy glades intervening between 

 patches of pine-woods. They could easily be distinguished by their 

 size and the pure whiteness of the under parts, and were beautiful 

 objects, especially when circling overhead. They are common, 

 especially in winter, but were apparently resident. Their cries 

 were loudest and most frequent in the spring, resembling the syl- 

 lables ca, ca, ca, rapidly repeated in a high key." 



Gray Hawk ; Mexican Hawk. (Asturina plagiata.) 



Fig. 17. 



This is another species of these beautiful Hawks that occasion- 

 ally extend their migrations across the borders, from Mexico and 

 Central America to the United States, and have been seen as far 

 inland as the Southern part of the State of Illinois by Mr. Ridge- 

 way, while hunting Swallow-tail and Mississippi Kites. It is said 

 to breed in the tops of lofty trees, and to have eggs of a greenish- 

 white color. 



PLATE CXI. 



California Vulture or Condor. (Cathartes califomianus.) 

 Fig. 1. 



The California Vulture is met with on the Pacific Coast, migrat- 

 ing as far east as the Sierra Nevada. Though a common bird 

 in California, Dr. Newberry found it much more shy and difficult to 

 shoot than its associate, the Turkey Buzzard ; nor did he ever see 

 it in such numbers or exhibit such familiarity as the smaller species 



which swarm, and are such efficient scavengers, in our Southern 

 cities. Dr. Coues says : 



" It was long supposed, by savans as well as by those who might 

 not be expected to know better, that Vultures were chiefly guided 

 to their prey by scent; a belief that probably arose from consider- 

 ation of the size of their nostrils, and the very ' gamey' nature of 

 their usual food. One of the first problems that occupied the at- 

 tention of Audubon was to discover whether the birds relied mainly 

 on sight or smell. He made a series of careful experiments, the 

 results of which he laid before the Wernerian Society of Edin- 

 burgh, December 16, 1826, in what he called his 'maiden speech,' 

 and has given a half-humorous account of the feelings with which 

 he attempted, on that, to him, momentous occasion, to demolish the 

 then existing beliefs, and establish the truth of what is now gener- 

 ally admitted — that Vultures are chiefly guided by their piercing 

 eye-sight. Another absurd belief was, and perhaps still is, that 

 Vultures prefer putrid flesh ; in support of which one might point 

 to a group of Turkey Buzzards perched upon a carcass, awaiting 

 its decomposition. But the reason is that their beaks and claws are 

 not strong enough to tear sound hide ; they can only attack a fresh 

 carcass at the eyes, nostrils, and vent, and when these parts are 

 demolished must wait until putrescence is established, or until some 

 carnivorous bird or quadruped makes an opening." 



According to Dr. Townsend, in their walk they resemble a 

 turkey strutting on the ground with great dignity ; but are clumsy 

 and awkward when they endeavor to hasten their movements, and 

 when they attempt to rise from the ground they always hop several 

 yards, in order to give an impetus to their heavy body. 



Black Vulture; Carrion Crow. (Cathartes atratus.') 



Fig. 2 



Near the sea-coast of our tropical and warmer portions of North 

 America, this Vulture is met with in great numbers, especially in 

 cities, where it is a semi-domesticated bird. In places where this 

 Vulture is a resident, it is very useful as a scavenger, and the ser- 

 vices it renders make it a welcome visitor. At a scene witnessed 

 by Mr. Wilson, near Charleston, where the carcass of a horse was 

 being devoured by these birds, he noticed the ground for hundreds 

 of yards around being black with them, counting at one time two 

 hundred and thirty-seven, while others were in the air flying 

 around. He saw them frequently attacking one another, fighting 

 with their claws and striking with their open wings, fixing their 

 claws in each other's head. They made a hissing sound with open 

 mouths, resembling that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker 

 into water, and occasionally a snuffling noise, as if clearing their 

 nostrils. At times one would emerge with a large fragment, and 

 in a moment would be surrounded by several others, who would 

 tear it to pieces and soon cause it to disappear. 



Red-headed Vulture; Turkey Buzzard. (Cathartes aura.) 

 Fig. 3- 



This Vulture has an extended distribution, and is met with in 

 most all parts of North America, more numerous in temperate 

 sections. We copy from Dr. Coues' interesting account the fol- 

 lowing : 



"Although the Cathartida are indolent, cowardly birds, they 

 sometimes — particularly the larger kinds — when pressed for food, 

 attack live animals, especially sick or disabled ones, and generally 

 overpower them in the end. Young pigs and lambs are sometimes 

 killed by the Turkey Buzzard, which is only of medium size. 

 But, in this connection, it should be remarked that whatever dam- 

 age they may thus effect is far outweighed by their good offices as 

 scavengers, in clearing away garbage and offal. This is the true 

 place of these foul and unseemly birds in nature's economy ; they 

 have the beauty of utility, if no other ; and their usefulness is 



