142 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
as the upper. Head and neck without corrugations or caruncles. 
Tarsus slightly longer than the middle toe ; fourth or fifth quill longest ; 
extremities of the quills reaching to or beyond the end of the tail. Tail 
even; iris “carmine”; eggs white. (P. calif or nianus.) (Page 142.) 
b. Only the upper half, or less, of the neck bare ; plumage commencing 
gradually with normal, broad feathers; feathers of breast and abdomen 
broad and normal. Head only moderately elongated, the upper outline 
irregular, the forehead elevated above the dorsal outline of the cere. Bill 
y strong, the terminal hook well developed. Posterior claw weaker, less 
curved. Iris brown. Eggs white, strongly blotched with brown. Nest on 
ground or stumps. ? 
2. Rliinogryplius. Nostril occupying the whole of the nasal cavity, 
its anterior end broadly rounded ; cere as deep as broad, the upper and 
lower outlines divergent posteriorly, the former considerably arched; 
lower mandible much less deep than the upper. Skin of the neck with- 
out corrugations ; a semicircular tuft of antrorse radiating bristles in 
front of the eye. Wing very long, the primaries reaching to or beyond 
the end of the tail. Tail much rounded. (R. aura and R. burrovianusf 
• W (Page 142.) 
3. Catharista. Nostril occupying only the posterior half of the nasal 
cavity, its anterior end contracted and acute ; cere depressed, much 
wider than deep, its upper and lower outlines parallel, the former not 
perceptibly arched ; lower mandible as deep as the upper ; skin of the 
neck transversely corrugated ; no tuft of bristles in front of the eye. 
Wing short, the primaries reaching scarcely to the middle of the tail. 
Tail even, or slightly emarginate. ( 0. atrata.') (Page 143.) 
Genus PSEUDO GRYPHUS, Bidgway. (Page 141.) 
P. californianus. Wing, 30.00-35.00; tail, 15.00-18.00. Total length, 45 to 50 
inches ; extent of wings, about 9 or 10 feet. 
Adult Bill yellowish- white ; naked skin of the head and neck orange and red ; iris 
carmine (authors). General plumage dull black, the upper surface with a faint bluish 
lustre, the feathers (excepting the primary coverts, secondary coverts, and remiges) pass- 
ing into dull brownish on their margins, producing a squamate appearance. Scapulars 
and (more appreciably) the secondaries and their coverts with a hoary grayish cast, the 
latter white for most of their exposed portions (producing a band across the wing), the 
white following the edges of the secondaries nearly to their ends ; primaries and tail- 
feathers, with their shafts, uniform deep black. Whole lining of the wing (except the 
outer border) and axillars pure white. Lower parts continuous dull carbonaceous-black, 
the tips of the penicillate feathers with a hoary or chalky tinge. 
Young. Bill dusky ; naked skin of the head and neck dusky, and more or less covered 
with soft, grayish down. Plumage duller black, with the white wholly absent. 
Hab. Pacific Coast region from mouth of the Colorado to the Columbia? Southern 
Utah (Henshaw). ( California Condor ; California Vulture . ) 
Genus RHINOGRYPHUS, Bidgway. (Page 142.) 
Common Characters. General plumage nearly uniform blackish ; no white. 
Adult Bill white ; head reddish. Young. Bill and head dusky, or blackish. 
