_Vultur aura_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 122, 1766.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. 246,
1789.—LATH. Syn. I, 9; Syn. Supp. I, 2; Ind. Orn. 4.—Gen. Hist. I, 12,
pl. iii.—PENN. Arct. Zoöl. I, 221.—BART. Trav. Carol. p. 285.—VIEILL.
Ois. Am. Sept. pl. ii.—ORD (WILS.) Am. Orn. pl. lxxv, f. 1.—AUD.
Edin. New. Phil. Journ. II, 172.—DARW. Journ. Res. p. 68.—WAGL. Isis,
1831, 517.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 36.—SELLS, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. v, p. 33;
Mag. Nat. Ser. 2, I, 638.—LEDRU, Voy. Ténérif. Trinit. etc. II, 264.
_Cathartes aura_, ILLIG. Prod. Syst. 236, 1811.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 1),
308; (ed. 2) I, 317.—SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 2.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ.—LESS.
Man. Orn. I, 73; Tr. Orn. p. 28.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 23; Isis,
1832, p. 1135; List Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 1.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A.
II, 4.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 3; IV, 245.—BREWER (WILS.) Synop.
p. 682.—IB. N. A. Oölogy.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. cli; Orn. Biog. II,
339; Synop. Birds Am. p. 2.—NUTT. Man. I, 43.—SWAINS. Classif. B.
II, 205.—DARW. Zool. Beag. pt. iii, p. 8.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 2;
List B. Brit. Mus. p. 3; List Gen. & Subgen. Brit. Mus. p. 2.—DE
KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 2, pl. v, f. 12.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1.—PEALE,
U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 58.—REICHENB. Prakt. Nat. Vög. p. 26.—KERR,
Transl. Gmel. II, 472.—MAX. Beit. III, 64.—RICH. (SCHOMB.) Faun. Brit.
Guiana, p. 742.—CAB. (TSCHUDI) Av. Consp. Wieg. Archiv, 1844, 262;
Faun. Per. Orn. p. 71.—D’ORB. Synop. Av. Mag. Zoöl. p. 2; Voy. Am.
Merid. Ois. p. 38 (R. Sagra); Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 4.—LICHT. Verz.
Doubl. p. 63.—HARTL. Syst. Ind. Azar. Pax. p. 1.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI,
1858, 2.—GURNEY, Cat. Rapt. B. 1864, 42.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 322
(Texas).—COUES, Key, 1872, 222. _Percnopterus aura_, STEPH. Zoöl.
XIII, pt. ii, p. 7, 1826. _Vultur iota_, MOLIN. St. Chil. p. 265,
1782.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 247.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 20.—LATH. Gen. Hist.
I, 15. _Cathartes iota_, BRIDG. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pl. ii, p. 108; Ann.
Nat. Hist. XIII, 498. _Cathartes ruficollis_, SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 2,
1824 (quote Catesby, pl. vi). _Cathartes falklandicus_, SHARPE, Ann. &
Mag. N. H.
SP. CHAR. Length, about 27.00–30.00; extent of wings, about 6 feet;
weight, 4–5 pounds. Wing, 20.00–23.00; tail, 11.00–12.00. Culmen, about
1.00; tarsus, 2.25–2.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 1.55; inner, 1.25;
posterior, .80. Iris umber; tarsi and toes dirty whitish, tinged with
yellow or flesh-color.
_Adult._ Bill chalk-white; naked skin of the head and neck livid
crimson, approaching dilute carmine on the cere, and sometimes with
whitish papillæ on the crown and before the eye. General plumage black,
this deepest and uniform on the lower parts; upper parts with a violet
lustre, changing to greenish posteriorly, all the feathers of the dorsal
region and the wing-coverts passing into brown on its borders. Primaries
and tail-feathers dull black, their shafts clear pale brown. ♂ (No.
12,015, Maryland; M. F. Force). Wing, 22.00; tail, 12.00; culmen, .95;
tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 1.55; inner, 1.25; posterior,
.30. ♀ (No. 49,681, Camp Grant, Arizona; Dr. E. Palmer). Wing, 20.00;
tail, 11.50.
_Young._ Bill, and naked skin of the head and neck, livid blackish,
the occiput and nape with more or less of whitish down. Plumage more
uniformly blackish, the brownish borders above less distinct; the
reflections of the plumage rather green than violaceous.
HAB. Whole of Temperate America; resident to lat. 38° north.
Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 213); Cuba? (CAB. Journ. II, lxxix;
GUNDLACH, resident); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1859); Jamaica
(GOSSE); Ecuador (SCL. Pr. Z. S. 1860, 287); Honduras (SCL. Ibis, II,
222); Trinidad (TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 78); S. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865,
322, breeding); Arizona (COUES, Prod. 1866, 42); Para (SCL. & SALV.
1867, 589).
After having compared numerous specimens of this species from all
parts of its range, including Chile, Patagonia, Terra del Fuego, the
West India Islands, and all portions of Middle America and the United
States, I am unable to appreciate differences according to locality,
and cannot recognize any geographical races. As a rule, the specimens
from intertropical regions, as might be expected, are the smallest and
most brightly colored. The smallest in the series are those from Lower
California.
HABITS. Probably none of the birds of America have so extended a
distribution as this Vulture, occurring, as it does, in greater or
less abundance from high northern latitudes at the Saskatchewan,
throughout North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in all
portions of South America, even to the Straits of Magellan. On the
Atlantic coast it is not common north of Central New Jersey, though
occasionally individuals have been seen as far north as New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia. Several specimens have been taken in various parts of
New England, from Calais, Me., to Connecticut. Mr. Lawrence cites it
as of rare and irregular occurrence near New York. In one instance he
noticed a company of nine individuals at Rockaway, Long Island. West
of the Alleghanies it has a much less restricted distribution, from
Central America almost to the Arctic regions. It is found more or less
frequently in all the Middle, the Southern, Western, and Northwestern
States, without an exception. It is met with in large numbers throughout
the entire Pacific coast of North America, from Lower California to
Washington Territory. Mr. Douglas saw vast numbers of this species in
Canada, near Sandwich and Lake St. Clair, during their breeding-season.
Dr. Richardson speaks of their having higher summer migrations in the
interior of the continent than on the Pacific coast, finding it along
the banks of the Saskatchewan, in latitude 55°, late in the month of
June. Mr. Say met with them in latitude 59°, and Lewis and Clarke
noticed them near the Falls of the Columbia River, in latitude 48°. Mr.
Blakiston states that an individual was shot at the Red River Settlement
as early as April 27, while the winter’s snow was still covering the
ground to the depth of a foot and the rivers were ice-bound. He also
observed it at Fort Carlton, in latitude 53°, on the 7th of May, and
again, on the 2d of September, in latitude 49°.
Mr. T. H. Jackson, of West Chester, Pa., informs me that this Vulture
has been known to breed at Parkersburg, fifteen miles west of the
former place, in the summer of 1870, and that they also breed rather
plentifully on the banks of the Susquehanna, laying their eggs, two in
number, in caves among the rocks, as early as the 10th of April, and
that some remain in that vicinity all winter.
[Illustration: _Rhinogryphus aura._]
Dr. Cooper mentions their great abundance during the summer in all
parts of Washington Territory, frequenting the vicinity of prairies and
river-banks, but never appearing along the coast. They arrive at Puget
Sound about the middle of May, and undoubtedly breed in the Territory.
Dr. Suckley met with them at Fort Dalles, in Oregon, and also on Puget
Sound. He also met with them not far from Pembina. Dr. Newberry also
observed them in California and Oregon, quite common in the vicinity of
the towns and about the great rivers. In the Klamath Basin it was more
rare, and on the Des Chutes he scarcely saw any; but on the Columbia,
especially below the Cascades, they were very plentiful.
Dr. Heermann found this bird ranging over the whole extent of
California, meeting them in great numbers in the vicinity of Fort Yuma,
at the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers.
In the West India Islands these birds occur in Cuba, Jamaica, and
Trinidad; but according to Mr. E. C. Taylor, neither this nor any other
species of Vulture occurs in any of the islands between Trinidad and
St. Thomas, not even in Tobago or Porto Rico. At Trinidad they are very
abundant.
Mr. G. C. Taylor found this Vulture common in Honduras, where, however,
it does not go much into the towns and villages, but is usually seen on
the outskirts and in the forests. In Guatemala, Mr. Salvin found it not
nearly so abundant as _C. atratus_, and there also, as in Honduras, it
frequented the more uncultivated and forest districts, leaving to the
latter all the duties of the scavenger. Captain C. C. Abbott found this
Vulture very common in the Falkland Islands, remaining the whole year
round, and breeding.
The flight of the Turkey-Buzzard is graceful, dignified, and easy. It
sails with a steady, even motion, with wings just above the horizontal
position, with their tips slightly raised. They rise from the ground
with a single bound, give a few flaps to their wings, and then proceed
with their peculiar, soaring flight. They rise very high in the air,
moving round in large circles. They are of gregarious habits, and
usually associate in companies of from ten to a much larger number.
They feed upon all kinds of animal food, and are accused by Audubon of
sucking eggs and devouring the young of Herons and other birds. Yet
in Trinidad they were observed by Mr. E. C. Taylor associating with
the poultry apparently upon the most amicable terms, and, although
surrounded with chickens of all sizes, they were never known to molest
them. Mr. Audubon also states that they devour birds of their own
species when dead. They are said to walk well on the ground and on
the roofs of houses, and associate and even roost in company with the
Black Vulture. Dr. Heermann, who observed them on the desert between
the Colorado and Carissa Creek, where they find an ample supply of food
from numerous animals that there perish from want of grass and water,
states that they seemed to be on terms of amity both with the Ravens
and the California Vultures, but retire on the approach of the prairie
wolf. He adds that when a company of these Vultures have once commenced
upon a carcass, a scene of plunder, noise, confusion, and dispute
ensues, baffling all description. Each one strives, as best he may, to
bolt the morsel he has seized, or to rob his neighbor whose booty is
too voluminous to be despatched at once. As illustrating the peculiar
flight of this species, Dr. Newberry mentions that, having occasion to
shoot one for the purpose of determining its identity, the wounded bird
made no motion indicating it had been struck by the shot, but sailed
on with widely expanded and motionless wings as before; gradually it
“began to descend in wide and regular circles, till finally, without
a wing-flap, it settled as lightly as a feather on the prairie, and
remained motionless.” Upon going to the bird, Dr. Newberry found it
resting in the grass, the wings still widely and evenly expanded, but
the head drooping and life extinct.
In the Southern States this Vulture is found equally in cities and
large villages, and near the coast, as well as in the interior, in
company with the Black Vulture (_C. atratus_), although the latter
species is chiefly confined to the coast, and is rare in the interior.
It is noticeable that in Guatemala and Honduras its habits are somewhat
different in these respects, being only found in wild places, leaving
the cities and sea-coast to the exclusive occupancy of the Black
Vulture. Mr. G. C. Taylor, who observed these birds in Kingston,
Jamaica, states that they were the only species seen, and that they were
always to be found either on the roofs of the houses or feeding on the
carrion in the streets. They made great noise with their feet as they
clattered over the shingles of the roofs.
In Trinidad, where Mr. E. C. Taylor found this bird much less numerous
than the _atratus_, it kept to the open country, and was not found in
the towns. He could always readily distinguish it by its more graceful
flight and its aquiline appearance. They were generally to be seen
skimming over the tree-tops, as if trying how near they could go without
touching. On the Orinoco, though more numerous than in Trinidad, they
did not frequent the towns in the same familiar manner with the Black
Vulture.
The Turkey-Buzzards, as well as the Black Vultures, are evidently
aided by a very powerful sight in distinguishing their food at a great
distance. They are frequently known to collect in large numbers, from
great distances, around the dead bodies of animals, where none were in
sight before. But it seems equally certain that they are also assisted
by an only less powerful sense of smell. Mr. Hill, cited by Mr. Gosse,
mentions a remarkable instance where these Vultures were attracted by a
strong smell of carrion to the house of a German emigrant, lying sick
of a fever, and where his neglected food had become offensive. In this
instance the sense of smell, unaided by that of sight, must have guided
these birds.
Mr. G. C. Taylor, while residing at Kingston, often used to puzzle the
Vultures by throwing dried bird-skins stuffed with cotton out upon an
adjacent roof. Few seconds would elapse before a Vulture would pounce
upon them, and manifest a great disappointment in finding nothing to eat
in skins of so promising an appearance. He once wrapped the carcass of a
bird in a piece of paper, and threw it into the top of a thickly leaved
tree near his window. There it remained for a long while, the Vultures
sweeping within a few feet of it, almost brushing the leaves with their
wings, their sense of smell informing them that there was something
eatable close by, but their sight failing to solve the problem, owing to
the enclosure of the object in an envelope.
The Turkey-Buzzard breeds on or near the ground, usually in hollow
trees, stumps, or decaying logs. It generally constructs no nest,
depositing the eggs with little or no preparatory pains for their
shelter. Mr. Ord found them breeding as early as the month of May in the
deep recesses of the solitary swamps of New Jersey. He describes the
nest as formed, without any painstaking, in a truncated hollow tree, and
in excavated stumps or logs, and mentions the number of eggs as from
two to four. Except in regard to the number of eggs, which is probably
never more than two, these observations substantially correspond with
other accounts of their breeding. In Jamaica, Mr. Gosse mentions that
the situations usually selected by the Turkey-Buzzard of that island for
laying and hatching its eggs are hollows and ledges of rocks in secluded
places or inaccessible crags and cliffs. A little dry trash, he adds,
or decaying leaves, are all the apology for a nest. On the island of
Galveston, where this Vulture was plentiful, Mr. Audubon several times
found its nest on a level part of the salt marshes, either under the
widespread branches of cactuses, or among tall grass growing beneath low
bushes. Mr. T. H. Jackson found this Vulture nesting in Maryland, with
fresh eggs, from April 10 to May 1.
Dr. C. Kollock, of Cheraw, S. C., informs me that in his neighborhood
both this species and the Black Vulture frequent places in the interior
of swamps and thick woods, generally called Buzzards’ roosts. They
congregate there through the year in large numbers, and usually breed in
the immediate vicinity. Mr. Audubon visited one of these roosts, near
Charleston, S. C., which extended over two acres of ground, and was
entirely destitute of vegetation.
Mr. Dresser, who found this species one of the most common birds of
Southern Texas, gives a somewhat different account of their nesting.
He found them breeding all through the country on the banks of streams
where the timber afforded a secure shelter. He saw many nests on the
banks of the Medina, Altacosta, and San Antonio Rivers; and these, he
states, were large and bulky, composed of sticks, and generally placed
at some height on a cypress or an oak near the river-bank.
Captain C. C. Abbott states (Ibis, 1861, p. 149) that in the Falkland
Islands they lay their eggs, two in number, but sometimes three, under
a high bank amongst bushes, or on the top of a dead balsam log, without
constructing any nest. The time of their laying was the first week of
November. The young birds have the bare space of the head and neck of
a bluish color, as also the feet. The old birds go in pairs the whole
year.
The eggs exhibit slight deviations in size, and occasionally the
nature of their markings, yet for the most part preserve specific
characteristics. The following are the proportions of four specimens,
which will represent their usual variations: 2.81 inches by 1.94; 2.75
by 1.87; 2.94 by 1.87; 2.62 by 1.94. These were from New Jersey, South
Carolina, Louisiana, and Tamaulipas (Mexico). The more common varieties
have a ground of a light cream-color, marked with large confluent spots
of reddish-brown or chocolate, chiefly predominating at the larger
end, but also sparsely scattered over the entire egg. Intermixed with
these are less frequent markings of a light purplish or lilac shade of
drab. These are often so faint as only to be perceptible on a close
examination. An egg taken some years since in New Jersey, by Alexander
Wilson, and somewhat faded, is marked over the entire shell with
confluent spots of a dark greenish-brown, with no perceptible shades
of red or purple. Another variety from Cheraw, S. C., has a ground of
nearly pure white, is very nearly unspotted, and is only marked with a
few small dots and lines of red and indistinct purple at the larger end.