_Cathartidæ_, GRAY, 1842.—HUXLEY, P. Z. S. 1867, p. 463. _Cathartinæ_,
LAFR. 1839. _Sarcorhamphidæ_, GRAY, 1848. _Gryphinæ_, REICH. 1850.
The characters of this family have been given in sufficient detail (III,
1), so that a short diagnosis, showing its most readily observable
peculiarities, will here be sufficient.
CHAR. Whole head, and sometimes the neck, naked; eyes prominent, and not
shaded by a superciliary shield. Cere much elongated, much depressed
anteriorly below the very arched culmen; nostrils longitudinal,
horizontal, the two confluent or perforate. Middle toe very long, and
the hind one much abbreviated. A web between the base of the inner and
middle toes.
The family _Vulturidæ_,[94] as long recognized, included all the
naked-headed, carrion-feeding _Raptores_ of both the Old and the
New World. The later researches of science, however, have shown the
necessity of separating the Vultures of the latter continent from those
of the former, and ranking them as a distinct family, while at the same
time the Old World Vultures are found to be merely modified _Falconidæ_.
The resemblance between the _Cathartidæ_ and the vulturine _Falconidæ_
is merely a superficial one of analogy, and not one of affinity. Being
the scavengers of the countries they inhabit, the latter thus perform
the same office in nature as the former, and for adaptation to a similar
mode of life their external characters are modified to correspond.
Close, however, as is the external resemblance between the two groups,
their osteological structure and internal anatomy is entirely different.
The _Cathartidæ_ differ from the _Vulturinæ_[95] as to their external
structure in the following particulars, the osteological structure
being entirely different in the two groups, the latter being like the
_Falconidæ_ in all the characters which separate the latter family from
the _Cathartidæ_.
=Cathartidæ.= Nostrils horizontal, perforate; a well-developed web
between the inner and middle toes, at the base.
=Vulturinæ.= Nostrils vertical, not perforate; no trace of web between
inner and middle toes.
In habits, the _Cathartidæ_ resemble the vulturine _Falconidæ_ of the
Old World. “They lack the strength and spirit of typical _Raptores_,
and rarely attack animals capable of offering resistance; they are
voracious and indiscriminate gormandizers of carrion and animal refuse
of all sorts,—efficient and almost indispensable scavengers in the
warm countries where they abound. They are uncleanly in their mode of
feeding; the nature of their food renders them ill-scented, and when
disturbed they eject the fetid contents of the crop. Although not
truly gregarious, they assemble in multitudes where food is plenty,
and some species breed in communities. When gorged, they appear heavy
and indisposed to exertion, usually passing the period of digestion
motionless, in a listless attitude, with their wings half spread.
But they spend most of the time on wing, circling high in the air;
their flight is easy and graceful in the extreme, and capable of being
indefinitely protracted. On the ground, they habitually walk instead of
progressing by leaps. Possessing no vocal apparatus, the Vultures are
almost mute, emitting only a weak hissing sound.” (COUES.)
The _Cathartidæ_ all belong to the tropical and warm temperate portions
of the continent, only one species (_Rhinogryphus aura_) extending its
range as far as the border of the colder regions. The famous Condor
(_Sarcorhamphus gryphus_) of the Andes and the equally large California
species (_Pseudogryphus californianus_) are among the largest birds of
flight in the world, being exceeded in size by none, and rivalled but by
one or two of the Vultures of the Eastern Hemisphere.
The following diagnoses based upon the external structure are sufficient
to characterize the very well-marked genera and subgenera of this
family. The distinctive osteological characters which accompany these
external features afford still more decided differences, and are
illustrated by the figures.
[Illustration: _S. gryphus_, ♂, Chile. ¼ nat. size.]
[Illustration: _S. papa_, ♀, Mazatlan. ¼ nat. size.]
Genera and Subgenera.
=A.= Crop naked. _Male_ with a fleshy crest, or lobe, attached to
the top of the cere. Bill very robust and strong, its outlines very
convex; cere much shorter than the head.
1. =Sarcorhamphus.= Entire neck bare; nasal cavity entirely open;
posterior claw very thick and strongly curved. Tail even.
Sexes different, the female lacking any fleshy caruncles, or
appendages, on the head and neck. Frontal lobe, or fleshy crest
of male, extending from the anterior border of the cere to the
middle of the crown; throat with a median wattle, or “dewlap”;
side of the neck with a somewhat convoluted or twisted caruncle,
extending from the side of the occiput obliquely downward,
across the neck to near the lower extremity of the gular wattle;
lower part of the foreneck with a pendent fleshy appendage.
Plumage beginning below the neck by a crescentic ruff of soft
white down, or cottony feathers, around the posterior portion.
Primaries longer than the secondaries; front of the tibio-tarsal
joint feathered …
_Sarcorhamphus._[96]
Sexes alike, the female possessing the caruncular appendages of
the head as well as the male. Frontal lobe attached to only the
middle portion of the cere, above the nostril; throat without
a median wattle; side of the neck without any caruncles; no
appendage on the foreneck; auricular region with longitudinal
corrugations, and occiput densely haired. Plumage beginning
below the neck by a ruff of broad, well-developed, normal
feathers. Primaries not longer than the secondaries. Front of
the tibio-tarsal joint naked …
_Cathartes._[97]
=B.= Crop feathered. Male without a fleshy crest, or other appendages,
on the head. Bill less robust, variable as to strength, its outlines
only moderately convex; cere nearly equal to the head in length. Sexes
alike.
_a._ Entire neck bare; plumage commencing abruptly in a ruff of
lanceolate, or penicillate feathers, these continued on the breast
and abdomen. Head much elongated, the upper outline a slightly
convex plane, the forehead depressed below the level of the very
elevated dorsal outline of the cere. Posterior claw very thick and
strongly curved.
2. =Pseudogryphus.= Nostril occupying only the posterior third of
the nasal orifice, its anterior end acute. Bill weak, the terminal
hook only slightly developed, the mandibles broader than deep, the
lower as deep 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. (_P. californianus._)
_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 strong, the terminal hook well developed.
Posterior claw weaker, less curved.
3. =Rhinogryphus.= 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 without 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. burrovianus_.)
4. =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. (_C. atratus._)