Some really strange visitors appeared in the trees in my backyard earlier today. I noticed their shadows on the ground outside my kitchen window in the late afternoon sunshine. I grabbed my camera and went outside to find about 40, or so, Eastern Turkey Vultures either flying overhead, or perched on the trees in my neighbor's yard.
My feral outdoor cats were also watching them a bit cautiously, although none of them made any moves to land in the yard.
My feral outdoor cats were also watching them a bit cautiously, although none of them made any moves to land in the yard.
One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the New World Vultures that ranges in the Americas from Cape Horn on the most southern tip of South America to parts of southern Canada in the Northern Hemisphere. They can also be found in the Caribbean Islands and Cuba, where they are sometimes referred to as "carrion crows".
Here in the American Southland, these scavengers can be seen all-year-around hanging out in large groups in trees, or perched on tall power lines, or water towers -- any place they can rest when they aren't flying overhead looking for dead animal carcasses to feed on.
The scientific term, Cathartes, is the Greek word for "purifier," referring to these vultures' role as "cleansers" that consume decomposing corpses in nature. In fact they do such an amazing job that a good sized family of these birds can strip large dead animal carcasses like cows and deer down to the bones in just about under a day.
Here in the American Southland, these scavengers can be seen all-year-around hanging out in large groups in trees, or perched on tall power lines, or water towers -- any place they can rest when they aren't flying overhead looking for dead animal carcasses to feed on.
The scientific term, Cathartes, is the Greek word for "purifier," referring to these vultures' role as "cleansers" that consume decomposing corpses in nature. In fact they do such an amazing job that a good sized family of these birds can strip large dead animal carcasses like cows and deer down to the bones in just about under a day.
Most birds are believed to have a very poor sense of smell, but the
Turkey Vulture is an exception. This bird can find carrion by odor, as well as their great eyesight. What they don't have is a syrinx -- the vocal organ of birds -- so its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. They also have a wingspan of between five to six feet in length.
Although my cats were apprehensive, there was little reason for them to worry. Turkey Vultures rarely feed on living things -- although they will occasionally go for live insects and live fish in drying-up ponds and streams. These scavengers feed mainly on dead animals, preferably recently freshly dead carrion. They will also occasionally feed on decaying vegetables and raid open trash dumpsters.
Not to be confused with their cousins, the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) -- which are also common in my part of Dixie -- the Turkey Vulture has bald, red heads with black feathers. The Turkey Vulture also has white feathers underneath their wings, giving them a sort of primitive beauty when flying overhead. The juveniles will have darker red heads than full adults, but their heads eventually turn the bright red color as well.
Although they appear intimidating, these birds are usually not dangerous to humans, but approaching them is usually not a good idea. These animals will regurgitate (aka throw up) on you as a defense mechanism....Yuck! So best to leave them alone and let them do the job that nature designed them for.
The following are the picture I took of this particular family group of Eastern Turkey Vultures.
Although my cats were apprehensive, there was little reason for them to worry. Turkey Vultures rarely feed on living things -- although they will occasionally go for live insects and live fish in drying-up ponds and streams. These scavengers feed mainly on dead animals, preferably recently freshly dead carrion. They will also occasionally feed on decaying vegetables and raid open trash dumpsters.
Not to be confused with their cousins, the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) -- which are also common in my part of Dixie -- the Turkey Vulture has bald, red heads with black feathers. The Turkey Vulture also has white feathers underneath their wings, giving them a sort of primitive beauty when flying overhead. The juveniles will have darker red heads than full adults, but their heads eventually turn the bright red color as well.
Although they appear intimidating, these birds are usually not dangerous to humans, but approaching them is usually not a good idea. These animals will regurgitate (aka throw up) on you as a defense mechanism....Yuck! So best to leave them alone and let them do the job that nature designed them for.
The following are the picture I took of this particular family group of Eastern Turkey Vultures.
 |
| A dark-headed juvenile Eastern Turkey Vulture. |
No comments:
Post a Comment