Cathartes aura. — A young Turkey Buzzard gorges itself 
with food to such an extent that it can hardly move. One will 
eat at a single meal a whole water snake (^Trofidonotus sipe- 
don) three feet long, as a young one once in my possession fre- 
quently did. Before it had a single feather it ate a house snake, 
three and a half feet long, equal In weight to one-fifth that of the 
bird. And in one and a half hours it was entirely digested, as I 
determined by killing and dissecting it at the end of that time. 
The young birds are fed for a considerable time by the 
parents by ejection of food from the crop or stomach, where 
it had either been softened or partially digested. The young 
insert the ojrened bill into the mouth of the parent, and drink 
the food from it much as a fowl drinks water. The food is, 
probably, always quite moist or juicy, thus furnishing drink to 
the young bird at the same time. 
The young birds kept in captivity drank water freely from any 
vessel as a fowl drinks, but were fonder of drinking from some 
vessel, as a bottle, with a narrow opening partially inverted, that 
the liquid might flow out. This must be because it is similar to 
the opened bill of the parents. 
They are very fond of thrusting the bill into the ojaening 
formed by the partially closed hand. I inferred from this fact 
the manner of feeding before I had an opportunity of observing 
it. 
They are fond of being caressed, or at least handled, especial- 
ly so while feeding. In a few days after being placed in captiv- 
ity they become fond of being handled, and soon follow persons 
about like, dogs. They express pleasure by a low hiss ; dis- 
pleasure by a more forcible hiss. 
They have a strong antipathy to dogs and express their dis- 
pleasure the moment one appears in sight. Possibly they mistake 
them for foxes, in whose company, or rather in proximity to 
whose dens, I have sometimes found the young in their nests. 
If a dog approaches near enough, the young Buzzard will attack 
him with bill, claws, and wings, using them very effectively. 
Auk, V, July, 1888. V. . 
Smelling Powers of the Turkey 
Buzzards. 
While oamping Inst summer on Hogback 
Mountain, in tliis state, between Jackson and 
Transylvania Counties, I made an expeiiment 
with the Buzzard. 
Western N'ortb Carolina is not the borne of 
this bird, but it is occasionally seen flying liigh 
in the air, going from one state into another. 
Wliilc on Hogback, five thousand feet above 
the sea, we often saw these birds passing 
over at a great height. I bad beard of tlie 
very acute sense of smell possessed by the 
Buzzard, and proposed to verify tlie statement 
by actual experiment. We had the day before 
bought a good fat slieop of a neighbor, and 
after the cook bad dressed it, I took the skin, 
head and entrails, and cairying them aw.ay 
from the cabin, entirely covered them with an 
old sack. The Buzzaids went on their way 
until the seventh day, when about nine o’clock 
in the morning, we saw two circling about far 
above the mountain top. We knew by their 
movements they were hunting for something. 
We watched tliem all day, and before five 
o’clock in the evening they were bolh roosting 
on the fence within ten yards of their long 
souglit meal. 'J'liey surely could not see what 
they weie looking for and found it only 
through the sense of smell. P. Jenks. 
Asheville, N. C., July, 1892. 
0,& O Vol.l7, Ji 
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