Part 81

GENUS CATHARISTA, VIEILLOT.

Catharista, VIEILL. 1816. (Type, Vultur atratus, BARTRAM.) Coragypys, I. GEOFFROY, 1854. Cathartes, AUCT. (in part).

GEN. CHAR. Size of Rhinogryphus, but more robust, with shorter wings, and very different flight. Wings with the remiges abbreviated, the primaries scarcely reaching to the middle of the tail. Tail even, or faintly emarginated. Head and upper portion of the neck naked, the feathers extending farther up behind than in front; naked skin of the side of the neck transversely corrugated; no bristles before the eye. Nostril narrow, occupying only about the posterior half of the nasal orifice, its anterior end contracted and acute. Cere not contracted anteriorly, but the upper and lower outline parallel; much depressed, or broader than deep. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck with normal, or broad and rounded, feathers. Fourth or fifth quill longest; outer five with inner webs sinuated. Tarsus longer than middle toe.

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.

SP. CHAR. Form heavy; the wings and tail short, the latter square; the remiges and rectrices very hard and stiff. Bill strong, the mandibles broader than deep, and of about equal depth, the terminal hook well developed; upper and lower outlines of the cere parallel, and nearly straight. Nostril narrow, its anterior end contracted and pointed. Wing, 17.00–17.50; tail, 7.50–8.50; culmen, .90–.95; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 2.90; outer, 1.90; inner, 1.50; posterior, .75.

Adult. Bill blackish, the point horny white; naked skin of the head and upper part of the neck blackish. Entire plumage continuous, perfectly uniform dull black; primaries becoming grayish basally (more hoary whitish on their under surface), their shafts pure white for their whole length.

♂ (11933, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia; Dr. Wilson). Wing, 17.50; tail, 8.25.

HAB. Tropical and warmer portions of America, especially near the sea-coast.

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.

14. Sarcorhamphus gryphus. One half natural size. 3369. Pseudogryphus californianus. One half natural size. 7260. Rhinogryphus aura. One half natural size. 1588. Catharista atrata. One half natural size.]

14. Sarcorhamphus gryphus. Skull and palatine bones. One half natural size.