x
1.55.

[Illustration 200: Ashy gray.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 199

325. TURKEY VULTURE. _Cathartes aura septentrionalis._

Range.--America, from New Jersey on the Atlantic coast, Manitoba and
British Columbia, south to southern South America, wintering in the
southern half of the United States.

The plumage of this small Buzzard (length 30 inches) is blackish brown,
the naked head being red. It is very common in the southern and central
portions of its range, where it frequents the streets and door yards
picking up any refuse that is edible. It is a very graceful bird while
on the wing, and can readily be identified when at a distance from the
fact that, when in flight, the tips of the wings curve upward. The two
eggs which constitute a set are laid upon the ground between large
rocks, in hollow stumps, under logs, or between the branching trunks of
large trees, generally in large woods. They frequently nest in
communities and again, only a single pair may be found in the woods. Its
nesting season ranges from March until June in the different localities.
The eggs are creamy or bluish white, spotted and blotched with shades of
brown, and with fainter markings of lavender. Size 2.70 x 1.85.

326. BLACK VULTURE. _Catharista uruba._

Range.--More southerly than the preceding; north regularly to North
Carolina and southern Illinois, and west to the Rocky Mountains.

This species is about the same size, or slightly smaller than the Turkey
Vulture; its plumage is entirely black as is also the naked head, and
bill. In the South Atlantic and Gulf States, the present species is even
more abundant than the preceding, and might even be said to be partially
domesticated. The nesting habits are the same as those of the Turkey
Buzzard but their eggs average longer and the ground color is pale
greenish or bluish white rather than creamy. They are spotted and
blotched the same. Size 3.00 x 2.00.

[Illustration 201: Creamy white.]
[Illustration: 324--325.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 200

[Illustration 202: Bluish white.
EGG OF BLACK VULTURE.]

[Illustration: NEST AND EGGS OF TURKEY VULTURE.
N. W. Swayne.]

Page 201

KITES, HAWKS AND EAGLES. Family BUTEONIDAE

The members of this family are chiefly diurnal; they get their living by
preying upon smaller animals or birds. They have strong sharply hooked
bills, powerful legs and feet armed with strong, curved an