Ridgway on the American Vultures. 
77 
In general, these remarks apply equally well to var. littoralis, 
though my series of this form is not as extensive as is desirable. 
Both sexes average a higher plumage than do those of tephrocotis. 
The abdomen of the male is a very deep pink, and this color is 
better marked in the edgings of the wing feathers. Two males 
have the chin, as well as throat, dark chocolate ; in one the gray of 
the cheeks extends* across the throat, which is also the case in two 
females. 
One specimen, a male, shows the relationship of the two forms 
in an interesting manner : the right cheek is chestnut, as in tephro- 
cotis ; on the left, the auriculars are gray, with darker shafts. 
In conclusion, the above characters are sufficient to correctly 
determine the sex of any of my specimens without reference to the 
labels. 
Fort Shaw, Montana. 
NOTES ON THE AMERICAN VULTURES (SARCORHAM- 
PHIDJE ), WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR GE- 
NERIC NOMENCLATURE. 
BY ROBERT RIDGWAY. 
In 1806, Dumeril established, in the “ Zoologie Analytique ” 
(p. 52), the genus Sarcoramphus, for the American Vultures in 
general, no special type being indicated; and in 1811, Illiger 
(Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium, p. 236) proposed 
the name Cathartes for the same birds, the diagnoses in each case 
being so worded as to apply to the entire family, and not to any 
special type. Dumeril named as his Sarcoramphi, “ le condor, le 
papa, l’oricou, etc.,” these being respectively Vultur gryphus , Linn., 
V. papa, Linn., and V. auricular is, Daud.,* while Illiger designated 
as examples of his genus Cathartes only Vultur papa and V. aura, 
in the order here given. It therefore appears that Cathartes of 
Illiger is essentially equivalent to Sarcoramphus of Dumeril, so far 
as these two authors alone are concerned, and that these terms as 
used by them were clearly equivalent to the family Sarcorham- 
* The last an Old World species not belonging to this family. 
