The black vulture
Black vultures display a rather “ugly” gray wrinkled head and their predominantly deep brown, almost black, plumage.
Turkey vultures commonly spread their wings in the early morning to dry them and “warm up.” However, this black vulture was captured using the same technique. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
The turkey vulture adult has a red head. (compare it to the black vulture) However, both species have featherless heads to avoid soiling their feathers.
The black vulture is a relative newcomer to the Times News area. Always very common from Texas through the Tennessee Valley and the Southeastern states, it has rapidly expanded to the north.
From the mid-70s through the early ’80s I never recorded one while filling the role of one of the official counters at the Bake Oven Knob hawk watch.
Eventually they were observed almost daily and now can be seen everywhere in this region. My first sightings of black vultures occurred during an East Stroudsburg State College course throughout Florida during the 1973-74 winter break. I observed them at every birding area/state park there. None were reported in Pennsylvania then.
I now see them daily over my East Penn Township home, and in fact, observed one on Jan. 16 this year. They seem to linger here longer in the fall and arrive earlier in spring than the more common turkey vulture (commonly referred to as a TV). This winter I observed them in the Lehigh Valley on nearly any trip there.
The black vulture has a featherless, very wrinkled gray head only a mother could love (beauty is not their calling card).
Their nostrils are smaller than the turkey vulture, supporting my theory that they don’t have the tremendous sense of smell as the turkey vulture. The TV’s legendary sense of smell is exploited by the black vultures who look for circling turkey vultures to lead them to food.
Both the black and the turkey vultures have adapted by having the bald heads to avoid soiling their feathers when they reach into a rotting carcass to feed on the flesh.
Black vultures are about 2 inches smaller than the turkey vulture, have a 5-foot wingspan, with a much shorter tail. Even their flying and soaring differ.
Black vultures flap more often than turkey vultures, characteristically a few rapid flaps followed by a short glide as they circle over a potential meal. Look for them soaring together with turkey vultures. Almost strict scavengers, they seldom catch and eat any live prey.
Scientists note, and I have observed, that sometimes eight or 10 black vultures sit back on the ground encircling the carcass almost hyenalike awaiting their turn to eat.
When you observe a vulture kettle (circling flock), look for the black vulture’s shorter tail, its white square-shaped pattern near the end of the wings, and a flat wing configuration.
On the other hand, turkey vultures have a longer tail, a slight grayish wing edge, and their wings are always held up in a slight “V” configuration. This “V” configuration is called a dihedral.
One other raptor, the harrier, flies with its wings in a dihedral as well.
Most research on black vulture reproduction has been from the southern states where it was always more numerous and more commonly studied; however, as they move northward, they seem to prefer to lay their two eggs directly on the ground often between large rocks. Females do the incubating while both sexes bring back food to the young.
When you have the opportunity to observe vultures soaring, make an effort to distinguish the turkey vultures from the “new boys on the block.”
Test your outdoor knowledge: All of these are mustelids (mammals with strong scent glands) except: A. skunk, B. mink, C. weasels, D. otters, E. all of these are mustelids
Last week’s trivia answer: The opossum, red fox, and rabbit all take advantage of the woodchuck’s burrow for escaping the winter cold, dens or eluding predators.
Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.
