286 
VULTURES 
XII. ORDER RAPTORES. BIRDS OF PREY 
1893. Fisher, A. K., The Hawks and Owls of the United States in 
Their Relation to Agriculture, Bull. No. 3, Div. Orn. and Mam. (Biol. Surv.), 
Washington. 8vo. pp. 210, col. plls. 26. 
34 . Family Cathartid^e. American Vultures. (Fig. 49 .) 
A New World family of nine species, of which three are North 
American. Within their range Vultures are found wherever there is 
food. Far above the earth on firm wing they sail in broad circles, and 
from this outlook in the sky descend to feast upon the stricken deer 
in the forest or the cur lying in the gutters of a thoroughfare. It is 
now the generally accepted belief that Vultures find their food by the 
aid of their eyes alone. Except during the nesting season, they are 
generally found in flocks, which each night return to a regularly fre- 
quented roost. When alarmed or excited, they utter low, grunting 
sounds, but at other times are silent. They build no nest, but lay their 
one to three eggs under logs or stumps, on the ground, in caves, or 
similar places. The young are born naked, but are soon thickly covered 
with white or buff down. 
325. Cathartes aura septentrionalis Wied. Turkey Vulture. 
(Fig. 49.) Ads . — Head and neck naked, the skin and base of the bill bright 
red; plumage glossy black, edged with grayish brown. Im. — Similar, but 
the head covered with grayish-brown, furlike feathers. L., about 30*00; W., 
22*00; T., 11*00; B., 2*30. 
Range . — Austral and Transition zones from s. B. C., Sask., w. Man., n. 
Minn., sw. Ont., w. and s. N. Y., and n. N. J. s. to s. L. Calif, and n. Mex.; 
winters throughout most of its regular range on the Atlantic slope but w. 
retires to Calif., Nebr., and the Ohio Valley; casual n. to Wise., Mich., n. 
Ont., and N. B. 
Washington, abundant P. R. Ossining, A. V. Cambridge, casual, two 
records. N. Ohio, tolerably common, S. R., Mch. 5-Oct. 30. SE. Minn., 
common S. R., Apl. 27. 
Nest, in hollow stumps or logs, or on the ground beneath rocks, bushes or 
palmettos. Eggs, 1-3, dull white, generally spotted and blotched with 
distinct and obscure chocolate markings, but sometimes plain or but slightly 
spotted, 2*80 x 2*00. Date, Florida Keys, Mch. 1 ; Buckingham Co., Via. Apl. 
3; Deer Creek, Md., Apl. 16; se. Minn., May 2, July. 
One of the first birds to attract the attention of the bird student 
in our Southern States is the Turkey “Buzzard.” Indeed, there are 
few moments between sunrise and sunset when these birds are not 
in sight. On outstretched, immovable wings they soar overhead in 
graceful circles, perfect pictures of “repose in motion.” Without 
once flapping their broad pinions, they sail in spirals up the sky until 
they are hidden by the storm-clouds they have purposely avoided. 
Again, one sees them winging their way low over fields or through the 
streets of a town in search of food which they find chiefly, perhaps wholly, 
by means of sight. At times they may be seen high in the air hurry- 
ing to a distant repast, to which they are guided by the food-flight 
of other Buzzards. 
