A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3

The species of this genus are only two in number, one of them (aura) extending over the whole of America, with the exception of the colder portions; the other (burrovianus) confined to the eastern tropical region. They may be distinguished as follows:—

Species.

Rhinogryphus aura (Linn.).
TURKEY-BUZZARD; RED-HEADED VULTURE.

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.

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.

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.

Genus CATHARISTA, Vieillot.

• Catharista, Vieill. 1816. (Type, Vultur atratus, Bartram.)
• Coragypys, I. Geoffroy, 1854.
• Cathartes, Auct. (in part).

This well-marked genus is composed of a single species, which is confined to the tropical and warm temperate portions of America. The difference from the other Vultures which this bird exhibits in its habits, and especially in its flight, is very striking, and furnishes additional characters distinctive of the genus.

Catharista atrata (Bartram).
CARRION CROW; BLACK VULTURE.

Vultur atratus, Bartram, Trav. Carol. 285, 1792.—Meyer, Zool. Ann. I, 290.—Ord (Wils.) Am. Orn. pl. lxxv, f. 2.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. cvi.—Brewst. Ed. Journ. Sc. Ser. 1, VI, 156. Cathartes atratus, Less. Man. Orn. I, 73, 1828.—Rich. & Swains. F. B. A. II, 6, 1831.—Darw. Journ. Res. p. 68; Zool. Beag. pt. iii, p. 7.—Swains. Classif. B. II, 206.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 10.—Brewer (Wils.) Am. Orn. Synop. Birds Am. p. 682.—Ib. N. A. Oölogy.—Aud. Synop. Birds Am. p. 3.—Bridg. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. xi, p. 108; Am. Nat. Hist. XIII, 498.—Bonap. Consp. p. 9.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 3.—Reich. Prakt. Nat. Vög. p. 27.—Cass. Bird N. Am. 1858, 5.—Coues, Key, 1872, 222. Catharista atratus, Gray, Hand List, I, 1869, 3, No. 16. Vultur aura niger β, Kerr, Transl. Gmel. 473, 1792. Vultur aura (not of Linn.!), Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 19 (quotes Pl. Enl. 187, 1800). Vultur urubu, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. ii, 1807.—Lath. Gen. Hist. I, 14. Cathartes urubu, Less. Tr. Orn. p. 27, 1831.—D’Orb. Voy. Am. Mérid. Ois. p. 31, pl. i. Percnopterus urubu, Steph. Zoöl. XIII, 7, pl. xxxi, 1826. Vultur iota, Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. III, 226, 1832.—Ord (Wils.) Am. Orn. (ed. 2). Neophron iota, Cuv. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 317, 1829. Cathartes iota, Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. B. p. 23; Isis, 1832, p. 1135; List, p. 1.—King, Voy. Beag. I, 532.—Nutt. Man. I, 46.—Peale, U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 59. Cathartes fœtens, Illig. Mus. Berol.—Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 63, 1823.—Gray, Gen. B. sp. 1, pl. i, f. 3.—Max. Beitr. III, 58.—Rich. Schomb. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 742.—Cab. Av. Consp. Wieg. Archiv, 1844, 262; Faun. Per. Orn. p. 71.—Hartl. Syst. Ind. Azar. p. 1.

Habits. The Black Vulture or Carrion Crow of the Southern States, though found in a much less extended area than the Turkey Vulture, has yet a very wide distribution. It is quite common along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Mexico. It does not occur on the Pacific coast of the United States, though given by Douglas as being abundant on the Columbia River; indeed, it has not, that I am aware of, been detected west of the Rocky Mountains. It is, however, as Dr. Gambel states, very common about the Gulf of California, and at Mazatlan, particularly, he saw it around the town in large companies. On the Atlantic coast it is not often met with farther north than Wilmington, N. C. I could not detect it near Norfolk, Va., nor could I ascertain that it was known ever to occur there. Accidental specimens have been taken, two on the coast of Massachusetts and one in the Bay of Fundy; but such occurrences are very rare. Along the coast of all the Southern States, from North Carolina to Texas, it is much more abundant than its kindred species, even where, in the interior of the same State, it is far less frequent. Along the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, as far as Ohio to the east and Illinois to the north, it is found more or less abundantly at certain seasons. It is met with in several of the West India Islands, though rare in Jamaica. It is abundant throughout Central America, and occurs in nearly all parts of South America. Specimens were brought from Chile by Lieutenant Gilliss, obtained near Santiago, where it was not common, and only found in the mountainous regions of the interior. Darwin fixes its extreme southern limit in latitude 41° south, near the Rio Negro, and he did not meet with any in Chile or Patagonia.

Mr. E. C. Taylor, in his paper on the Birds of the West Indies, mentions the great abundance of Black Vultures at Port of Spain, in Trinidad. They swarmed over the town, covered the roofs of the houses, and lived on the best terms with the poultry. So tame and familiar were they that he often poked them with his stick or umbrella as he walked through the streets. At night they roosted in the trees in the gardens and squares of the town. They were very abundant all over Trinidad and in the parts of Venezuela he visited, but he found none in any of the islands from Trinidad to St. Thomas. This species was not found in Jamaica by Mr. Gosse, but Mr. March afterwards reported it as a “recent settler.”

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 22) found the Black Vulture very abundant in Honduras, where it is always to be seen in the villages, sitting on the roofs of the houses, wheeling in flocks high in the air, or feeding on the offal in the streets. They were very tame and very numerous, forty or fifty being frequently seen in a single company. They abounded in all parts of Central America that he visited.

With the exception of Quiscalus macrurus, Mr. Salvin regards this species as the most familiar bird in Guatemala. At night they retired to the forests, and in the early morning trooped back to their posts in the streets and lanes, and about the tops of the houses and churches. They generally nested in the forests, though in Antigua Guatemala they were said to use the ruins of the old churches for that purpose.

Mr. Dresser found this Vulture about equally common with the R. aura on the Lower Rio Grande, but much less common near San Antonio. He usually found the two species in company, attended also by the Polyborus auduboni and Craxirex harrisi. They were found breeding among the rocks at Systerdale, where they were said to be the only species found.

Dr. Coues did not meet with any in Arizona, nor were any taken on the survey of the Mexican boundary. In South Carolina he considered it chiefly confined to the lower country, while the C. aura is more generally distributed over the State. The two meet together freely, and as they circle about in each other’s company they afford an excellent opportunity of noticing the great differences in their mode of flight and in the outline of their bodies and wings. On the other hand, Wilson, Ord, and others deny that the two kinds live together.

In the Southern Atlantic cities, especially Charleston and Savannah, the Black Vulture is a semi-domestic bird, and is very abundant. It is also to be found in the interior, but is neither so common nor so tame.

The Catharista atratus is said to be much more sensitive to cold than the aura, and when the weather is at all unfavorable they cower around the tops of chimneys to enjoy the heat. Though tolerated and even protected by law, their filthy habits render them a source of annoyance to those whose houses they frequent. Their value as scavengers and the services they render in the removal of offal render them almost a necessity in Southern cities.

Both in their mode of flight and in their movements upon the ground this species differs materially from the Turkey-Buzzard. The latter walks steadily while on the ground, and when it mounts does so by a single upward spring. The Black Vulture is ill at ease on the ground, moves awkwardly, and when it essays to fly upward takes several leaps in a shuffling sidelong manner before it can rise. Their flight is more labored, and is continued by flapping several times, alternating with sailing a limited distance. Their wings are held at right angles, and their feet protrude beyond their tail-feathers. In all these respects the differences between the two birds are very noticeable, and plainly mark the species.

Mr. Audubon states that at the commencement of the mating-season, early in February, the gesticulations of the males are very conspicuous. They strut in the manner of a Turkey-cock, open their wings, lower their heads, and utter a puffing sound that is anything but musical.

Alexander Wilson describes with great minuteness a scene he witnessed near Charleston, where the carcass of a horse was devoured by these birds, the ground for hundreds of yards around being black with them. He counted at one time two hundred and thirty-seven, while others were in the air flying around. He ventured within a few yards of the horse without their heeding his presence. They frequently attacked one another, fighting with their claws and striking with their open wings, fixing their claws in each other’s head. They made a hissing sound with open mouths, resembling that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker into water, and occasionally a snuffling noise, as if clearing their nostrils. At times one would emerge with a large fragment, and in a moment would be surrounded by several others, who would tear it in pieces and soon cause it to disappear.

The Black Vulture breeds on or near the ground in the same manner as the Turkey-Buzzard, in hollow logs, decayed trunks of trees, and stumps, and also without this protection, the bare earth only being made use of. It is said to make no nest. The eggs seldom, if ever, exceed two in number. These are greater, both in their length and capacity, than those of the Turkey-Buzzard, although the measurements of the birds themselves would seem to show the latter to be apparently the larger bird. The average weight of the Black Vulture’s egg, however, is about one pound, or fifteen per cent greater than that of the Buzzard. Three from Charleston, Galveston, and the Rio Grande furnish the following measurements: 3.81 inches by 1.94; 3 by 2.06; 3.06 by 1.94. The principal difference between the eggs of this and the preceding species is in regard to their size. Their ground-color is the same, or nearly the same,—a yellowish-white or cream-color, almost never a pure white, and only in exceptional cases. The eggs are more elongate in their shape, and the blotches are usually larger. These are of a dark reddish-brown, confluent, and chiefly distributed around the larger end. There are also markings, smaller and less frequent, of lilac and purplish-drab, similar to those noticed in the eggs of C. aura. An egg from the Rio Grande is marked with small spots of reddish-brown and obscure lilac, equally distributed over the whole surface on a ground of cream-color.

Mr. Audubon is positive that this Vulture never breeds in trees, and that they never build any nest, but deposit their eggs on the ground, on a dead log, or in a hollow tree. Twenty-one days are required for hatching their eggs, on which the male and female sit by turns and feed each other. The young are covered with a light cream-colored down, and are fed with regurgitated food, in the manner of Pigeons. As soon as they are able, they follow their parents through the woods, at which period their entire head and neck, which afterwards become bare, are covered with feathers.

NOTE.

The following figures are given to illustrate some of the cranial and sternal peculiarities of the Cathartidæ.

Family COLUMBIDÆ.—The Pigeons.

The bill of the Columbidæ is always shorter than the head, thinnest in the middle; the basal half covered by a soft skin; the apical portion of both jaws hard; the upper one very convex, blunt, and broad at the tip, where it is also somewhat decurved. There is a long nasal groove, the posterior portion occupied by a cartilaginous scale, covered by a soft cere-like skin. The nostrils constitute an elongated slit in the lower border of the scale. The culmen is always depressed and convex. The bill is never notched in the true Doves, though Didunculus shows well-defined serrations. The tongue is small, soft, and somewhat fleshy.

The wing has ten primaries, and eleven or twelve, rarely fifteen, secondaries; the latter broad, truncate, and of nearly equal length. The tail is rounded or cuneate, never forked.

The tarsus is usually short, rarely longer than the middle toe, scutellate anteriorly, and with hexagonal plates laterally and behind; sometimes naked. An inter-digital membrane is either wanting entirely, or else is very slightly indicated between the middle and outer toes.

The valuable monograph of Bonaparte in the second part of Conspectus Avium renders the task of arranging the American Columbidæ in proper sequence and of determining their synonomy comparatively easy. He divides the family into Lopholæminæ, Columbinæ, Turturinæ, Zenaidinæ, and Phapinæ, the second and fourth alone occurring in North America. They may be briefly distinguished as follows:—

Subfamily COLUMBINÆ.

This section of doves embraces the largest North American species, and among them the more arboreal ones. The genera are as follows:—

Genus COLUMBA, Linnæus.

Columba, Linnæus, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, Columba livia, L.)

The genus Columba, as characterized above, includes the C. livia, or domestic Pigeon, the differences between it and the American forms being very slight. Reichenbach and Bonaparte separate the North American birds from Columba, under the name of Chlorœnas, while C. leucocephala and a near ally of the West Indies (C. corensis) have been placed in the subgenus Patagiœnas, Reichenbach.

The variations of form among the numerous American members of Columba are more with the species, however, than with groups, and withal are so exceedingly slight that an attempt at subdividing the genus is scarcely justifiable. They may be arranged by the style of coloration as follows. None of the American species have the forepart of the neck metallic, as in the European species, or Columba proper, as restricted, and in which these metallic feathers have the fibres loose and blended, instead of being compact; the feathers also have a well-defined squamate arrangement in nearly or quite all the American Columbæ.

Species and Varieties.