[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 × 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 × 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 BUTEONIDÆ 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 and sharply pointed talons. 327. SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. _Elanoides forficatus._ Range.--Southern United States; casually north to New York and Manitoba.