BLACK VULTURE. 
17 
far from numerous, and is peculiar to the warmer cli- 
mates alone.* The latter bird is larger than the zopilot, 
has a red head and feet, with a beak of a deep red 
colour, except towards its extremity, which is white. 
Its feathers are brown, except upon the neck and parts 
about the breast, which are of a reddish black. The 
wings are of an ash colour upon the inside, and, upon 
the outside, are variegated with black and tawny. 
“ The cozcaquauhtli is called by the Mexicans, king 
of the zopilots ; f and they say, that, when these two 
species happen to meet together about the same carrion, 
the zopilot never begins to eat till the cozcaquauhtli has 
tasted it. The zopilot is a most useful bird to that 
country, for it not only clears the fields, but attends 
the crocodiles, and destroys the eggs which the females 
of those dreadful amphibious animals leave in the sand 
to be hatched by the heat of the sun. The destruction 
of such a bird ought to be prohibited under severe 
penalties.” J 
We are almost afraid of trespassing upon the patience 
of the reader by the length of our quotations ; but as we 
are very anxious that the subject of this article should 
enjoy that right to which it is fairly entitled, of being 
ranked as an independent species, we are tempted to 
add one testimony more, which we find in the History 
of Chiliy by the Abbe Molina. 
“ The jota ( vultur jota) resembles much the auray a 
species of vulture, of which there is, perhaps, but one 
variety. It is distinguished, however, by the beak, 
which is gray, with a black point. Notwithstanding 
the size of this bird, which is nearly that of the turkey, 
and its strong and crooked talons, it attacks no other, 
but feeds principally upon carcasses and reptiles. It is 
* This is a mistake. 
This is the vultur aura. The bird which now goes by the 
°t me of king of the zopilots , in New Spain, is the vultur papa 
Linnaeus; 
j Clavigero’s Mexico , translated by Cullen, vol. i, p. 47. 
London. 
VOL. I. 
B 
