Nature's Clean Up Crew

All of us unfortunately generate refuse and then we pay to dispose of or recycle it properly. Nature has to dispose of dead animal matter, but luckily there are organisms to fill the niche.

One of the most visible and familiar is vultures. Locally we have two species, the turkey vulture and the black vulture.

The turkey vulture is most common. Vultures can be seen circling over towns, the Lehigh River gorge, along mountain ridges, or over farms. They have been incorrectly called "buzzards."

Turkey and black vultures often circle and drift over an area when they locate a dead animal(s) called carrion. Turkey Vultures, unlike other bird species, have a tremendous sense of smell. Its brain's olfactory region is the largest of all birds. Rising bubbles of warming air (thermals) carry the smell of a dead animal to a vulture soaring above. And within minutes, using this sense and also keen eyesight, the birds have descended on their meal. Turkey vultures will only eat dead animals. While black vultures will sometimes kill and eat injured prey, turkey vultures don't have feet with talons like other birds of prey. In fact their feet are rather chickenlike.

A turkey vulture has a wingspan (wing tip to wing tip) of 6 feet. Compare that to an even more common bird, the Canada goose whose wing span is about 5½ feet. However, the turkey vulture weighs between 2 and 4 pounds, while the goose weighs 10-12 pounds.

The vulture gave up most of its muscle mass and weight to seemingly "float forever" seldom having to flap. The wings and long feathers catch as much lift as possible. Vultures are so great at finding thermals that migrating hawks look for circling vultures to help them gain altitude and migrate more efficiently.

Vultures and their relatives condors have "bald heads."

Imagine a bird with a head full of feathers groping in the body cavity of a dead deer and picture it withdrawing a matted, bloody mess of feathers. The basically featherless head can dry quickly, avoiding infections, and deters swarming insects that would be attracted to a stinky feathered head. An adult turkey vulture shows a powerful sharp beak, nostrils and the ear, both of which are inconspicuous on a bird with a feathered head.

All vultures' digestive systems can withstand almost any pathogens. Powerful enzymes and strong acids keep the rotting food, including botulism, from killing these birds. Please note, vultures generally find carrion that is less than 24 hours old, and will not eat extremely rotted meat. The vulture's diet also dictates its defensive method. A cornered (threatened) adult or young vulture will vomit on its threat. (Imagine the stench of partially digested flesh thrown up on you.)

Black vultures are relative newcomers to our area. They were mostly a southern bird but are now well established here. Their wingspan is a little less than the turkey vulture and in flight can be distinguished by a flatter wing configuration, a shorter tail, some white underwing linings and their habit of flapping a bit more. If seen up close, their head is only bald to just behind their eyes and is not red (photo 3 shows a perched pair.). Black vultures have sharp powerful beaks and stronger talons than their cousins.

Remember, get out there and discover ….

Test Your Knowledge: Which of these is not an excellent climber? A. Red Fox B. Gray Fox C. Fisher D. Porcupine

Last week's quiz answer: B. The barn swallow flies to Argentina to its wintering area.

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