80 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



the coverts, which are beautiful dark-brown ; the tail, lohich is rather 

 large and ivhite, is tipped unth this dttrk-hroioa or hlach ; the legs and 

 feet of a clear white ; the e_ye is encircled with a gold-colored iris; the 

 pupil black." Bartram, as above, pp. 150, 151. 



Hab. — Florida. No specimen known to be extant. 



Obs. — This description, by William Bartram, one of the celebrated 

 American botanists and scientific travellers of that name, is evidently 

 of a bird similar to the king vulture. But, in this description, it is 

 stated that the tail is ivhite, tipped with dark-brown or black, while 

 in the king vulture it is clear lustrous black (as described immediately 

 preceding). 



Since the time of this distinguished author, the vulture described 

 by him has never been noticed by any other traveller, and is entirely 

 unknown to naturalists. It has sometimes been regarded by authors 

 as identical with the king vulture, but t\mt conclusion is scarcely 

 warrantable in the present limited knowledge of the zoology of 

 Florida. Mr. Bartram's descriptions, moreover, are usually very ac- 

 curate, as may readily be determined. 



2. Genus CATHARTES, /%cr, Prodromus, p. 236 (1811). 

 1. Catiiartes californianus {S'haio). — The California Vulture. 



VnJtur callfurnianus, Shaw, Nat. Misc. IX, p. 1 (1797). 



Vultur columbianus, Ord. Guthrie's Geography, II, p. 315 (1815). 



Cathartes vulturinus, Temminck, PI. Col. I (not paged, 1820). 



Shaw, Nat. Misc. IX, Plate CCCI ; Lichtenstein, Trans. Acad. 

 Berlin, 1838, Plate I; Gray, Genera of Birds, I, Plate IE; Audubon, 

 Birds of Am. Plate CCCCXI ; octavo edition, I, Plate I ; D'Orbigny's 

 Cuvier, Ois. Plate VIII, fig. 3 ; Temminck, PI. Col. 51. 



Large ; head and neck bare ; plumage commencing on the neck, 

 near the body, with a rufl' of long lanceolate feathers, continued on the 

 breast. A few short down-like feathers on the vertex and at the base 

 of the upper mandible ; bill rather long ; nostrils moderate, communi- 



