TURKEY VULTURE. 
267 
wide slit or opening through it ; the tongue is greatly concave, car- 
tilaginous, and finely serrated on its edges ; ears subcordate ; eyes 
dark, in some specimens reddish hazel ; wrinkled skin of the head 
and neck reddish ; the neck not so much caruncled as that of the 
Black Vulture ; from the hind-head to the neck feathers, the space 
is covered with down of a sooty black colour ; the fore part of the 
neck is bare as far as the breast bone, the skin on the lower part, 
or pouch, very much wrinkled, this naked skin is not discernible 
without removing the plumage which arches over it ; the whole 
lower parts, lining of the wings, rump and tail coverts, are of a 
sooty brown, the feathers of the belly and vent hairy ; the plumage 
of the neck is large and tumid, and, with that of the back and 
shoulders, black; the scapulars and secondaries are black on their 
outer webs, skirted with tawny brown, the latter slightly tipped 
with white ; primaries and their coverts plain brown, the former 
pointed, third primary the longest ; coverts of the secondaries, and 
lesser coverts, tawny brown, centred with black, some of the fea- 
thers, at their extremities, slightly edged with white ; the tail is 
twelve inches long, rounded, of a broAvnish black, and composed 
of twelve feathers, which are broad at their extremities ; inside of 
wings and tail light ash ; the wings reach to the end of the tail ; 
the whole body and neck, beneath the plumage, are thickly clothed 
with a white down, which feels like cotton ; the shafts of the pri- 
maries are yellowish white above, and those of the tail brown, 
both pure white below ; the plumage of the neck, back, shoulders, 
scapulars and secondaries, is glossed with green and bronze, and 
has purple reflections ; the thighs are feathered to the knees ; feet 
considerably webbed ; middle toe three inches and a half in length, 
and about an inch and a half longer than the outer one, which is 
the next longest ; the sole of the foot is hard and rough ; claws 
dark horn colour ; the legs are of a pale flesh colour, and three 
inches long. The claws are larger, but the feet slenderer, than 
those of the Carrion-crow. The bill of the male is pure white, in 
