84 
Ridgway on the American Vultures. 
extend upwards on the hack of the neck ; a small bare space on the breast. 
Wings long, the quills and tail-feathers black, with the shafts of the 
primaries white and conspicuous ; third primary longest. The smallest 
American Vulture known. 
“ Total length (of skin) 22 inches, bill 2^, wing 18, tail 8^. 
“ Hah. — Near Vera Cruz. 
“ This species resembles C. aura, Linn., in the shape of the bill and 
nostrils, and in having the tail rounded, but differs from it not only in size, 
but the feathers extend upwards on the hack of the neck and lie fat instead 
of forming a ruff; the plumage of the specimen now described is black, 
none of the feathers having pale margins , as is commonly the case in speci- 
mens of C. aura; the shafts of the primaries are clear white, and the head 
is more entirely destitute of downy feathers. The tarsi are longer and 
more slender. 
“ The head of C. hurrovianus is quite smooth, in which, as in other 
respects, it is very different from C. atratus, Wilson. 
“ This new species was obtained in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, by the 
late M. Burrough, M. D., in honor of whom I have named it, as a slight 
acknowledgment for his very valuable services to natural history, and to 
this Academy.” 
Cathartes pernigra, Sharpe. — A specimen of this species 
is in the Maximilian collection, at the American Museum, New 
York. It appears quite distinct from both C. aura and C. hurro- 
vianus, being, in fact, somewhat intermediate between the two. In 
size it is nearly, if not quite, equal to C. aura, and, like the latter, 
has the nape entirely bare of feathers, the plumage commencing 
abruptly about half-way down the neck. The shafts of the primaries 
are a lighter brown than in C. aura, but not so white as in hurro- 
vianus. In regard to the plumage, however, there is a much closer 
resemblance to C. hurrovianus, the back and wings being wholly 
black, like the lower parts, without a trace of the light-brownish 
borders to the feathers, so conspicuous in aura. The black is also 
much less glossy than in the latter. 
The specimen (male) is, unfortunately, not quite adult, the bill 
being partly blackish, and the nape covered with a soft dusky down. 
The measurements are as follows : wing, 20.00 ; tail, 12.00 ; culmen 
(chord of the arch), .85 ; tarsus, 2.50 ; middle toe, 2.40. 
The bill and feet appear more slender than those of C. aura. 
