62 
VERTEBRATA. 
THE CALIFORNIA VULTUKB. 
theirs. On observing ttat they did not heed rae, I stole so close that my feet were within one 
yard of the horse's legs, and again sat down. They all slid aloof a few feet ; but, seeing me 
quiet, they soon returned as before. They kept up the hissing occasionally. Some of them, 
having their whole heads and legs covered with blood, presented a most savage aspect. Still as 
the dogs advanced, I would order them away, which seemed to gratify the vultures ; and one 
would pursue another to within a foot or two of the spot where I was sitting. Sometimes I ob- 
served them stretching their necks along the ground, as if to press the food downward." 
The California Vulture, C. Californianiis, is a very large species, measuring three and a 
half feet ; the head and neck are of an orange-color and bare, with a few short feathers on the 
vertex ; a ruff of long lanceolate feathers begins at the neck and continues to the breast ; the 
whole plumage is black, with some feathers tipped with brown ; the tail is slightly rounded. It 
is found only on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, where it lives chiefly in the vicinity of 
rivers, feeding on fish. 
Other species of this genus are Burrough's Vulture, (7. Burrovianus, the smallest of known 
vultures ; its plumage is black, and its length twenty-two inches ; it is found in Mexico, and no 
doubt further south. Probably it exists in California. 
Genus GYPOGERANUS : Gyj^ogeranus ; this includes a single species, G. serpentarius, which 
can hardly be classed with either the falcons, eagles, or vultures. It is called the Serpent Eater 
because it feeds on serpents, and Secretary Vulture because it has a tuft of quills or feathers 
on the head, reminding one of the quills which clerks or secretaries carry behind their ears. It 
lives much on the ground, and measures three feet in length ; in appearance it is something like 
