Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-05-31
DESERT BIRDS OF AMERICA.
Tue cocopah Mountain yuItures Are
 Larger Than the Condor.

| of granite monuments all the way from lGl Iaso westward to San Diego on the Pacific ocean, since September, 1892, 1t has been the means of giving to the scientists of the world much valuable information.
 The most fruitful results of the scientific expedition were those among the birds and animals. Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, II. s. A., had charge of collect ing ornithological and mammal speci- mems in tine progress across the deserts and mountains and through the Coco pah Indian region. The doctor and his assistants collected nearly 2000 speci- mems of curious life, and they have been busy for weeks in arranging the enor- nous collection. The doctor has packed his specimens in San Diego and has gone on To the Smithsonian institution with them, expecting te put in some two years in classifying them and put ting them in shape for the information they will impart to naturalists every where
 Among other birds making their last stand in the Cocopah mountains before 1 the advance of man is one of noble size
 "a bird that, as a strong, powerful and graceful flyer, is the peer of American birds. It is the California yulture. In size it is larger than the South Ameri- can condor, that king of birds in the cIoud-touching Andes. Few of these birds are left in California, and they are not numerous even in that part of the Cocopah mountains traversed by 1 Dr. Mcarns It has been remarked that the California yulture is a cowardlY bird, but the members of Dr. Mearns' i party do not think so after observing i one of these vultures fight rattlesnal5e. It was in the early morning. The big bird had seized the snake behind the head and was struggling upward with l its writhing, deadly burden. The snakes captor appeared aware that it's victim WAS dangerous. The burden WAS heavy, as the reptile was nearly five feet long The great pinions of the vulture waved rapidly as it slowly as cended from the mountain mesa. All l though large in size these vultures are not as strong as they appear to be. Up and up went the bird and the rattle snake.
 The grip Of the bird on the snakes body WAS not of the best. The snake seemed to be squirming from it's cap l tors talons at least sufficiently to en- able fl 10 strike at the great bird. The triangular head of the snake was seen to reeoil and dart at the mass of feath- CTS. IL did this once CT twice, and then with shfiek the Yulture dropped it's prey. The bird was then probably 50a feet or so above the observers. The astonished men below were then treated to a spectacle seldom seen anywhere. Few birds but a vulture could accom- plish such a feat. The instant the snake escaped from the birds clutches # dropped earthward like a shot. And like shot the bird dropped after 1t. catching the astonished snake in mid air ere it touched the ground with q l grip that caused death. At any rate, i the snake ceased to wiggle, and the vulture scared away to a mountain l peak to devour it's hartl-earned meal. l Why the snake did not bite the vulture and cause the death of the bird can only be explained by the fact that the 1 thick feathers probably protected the biped's flesh from incision by the rep tiles fangs.
 These vultures are closely allied t3 the common turkey buzzard. Their color is a glossy black, with patches of white under the wings The greater l part of the neck is bare, like the turkey huzzard,w with a ruffie where the feathers begin. There is bright orange patch on the head. A fair-sized specimen of 1 the California vulture is four feet high and weighs about 20 pounds. Years ago, when these huge birds were com mon, it was q faSmiliar sight in the val 1 leys to see California vultures and bu2- cards feeding on the same carcass in 1 perfect harmony, while occasionally a raven would join them. These vultures were frequently caught alive, when l gorged by lariat in the hands of 3 1 cowboy. One cause of the eXtermina- tion of the vulture in California has been through the medium of poisoned meat. prepared by ranchers to kill pes 1 tiferous animals. The breeding habits of the vuitures are practically unknown. l although it is supposed to nest in caves or cliffs, like the turkey buzzard. Ow- ing to the practical extinction of the bird, it's eggs are as rare and valuable as are those of the great auIl, and will l probably become more valuable. Some Is perfect eggs of the great aull are in l collections, one of these eggs being worth $1,500 or more. Only two eggs of the California vulture are known to ex- ist. Even the national museum at Washington does not possess one of these valuable specimens.
 Observations of bird life at different places along the route of the boundary survey, which sometimes took the nat uralists into the mountains, were of rare interest. At one point along the ] ..L.. .... L .