Vultures prowl the skies

Forrest M. Mims III

When I was a kid in Houston, Texas, the giant black birds we saw gliding across the sky were called buzzards by my friends and me. Many people still call them that, but that is not their name.

Those big, black gliders are actually vultures. The buzzard is what the English call a bird of prey that we know as a hawk.

The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is both the largest and rarest vulture in the United States. Their wing span can reach 3 meters (about 10 feet).

The most common vultures in the United States are known as turkey and black vultures. The most common down here in South Texas is the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). These huge birds have a wing span of nearly 2 meters (around 6 feet). Adults are recognized by their bare red heads and their black plumage.

Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) are smaller than turkey vultures. They have a wing span of about 1.4 meters (about 4.5 feet) and a black, bare face. Their wing tips are white, which makes them easy to distinguish from turkey vultures.

You can tell the difference between these two vultures by they way their wings are held as they glide across the sky. The big turkey vultures tilt their wings slightly upward. Black vultures keep their wings flat. The difference might seem slight, but it’s very obvious when the two kinds of buzzards are seen together in flight.

Vultures are fun to watch as they glide across the sky looking for thermals and supper. Thermals are columns of warm, rising air that allow vultures to soar for hours without a wing beat.

Vultures also look for their next meal as they glide. When they spot a likely candidate, they circle around in a way that quickly attracts other vultures. A dead deer or other large meal may attract dozens of the giant birds.

I’ve heard that some people brag about shooting vultures out of the sky. There are three problems with this.

The first problem is that people who shoot vultures don’t necessarily use shot guns. Pellets from a shot gun will not reach a vulture unless its fairly close to the ground. A rifle is required to shot a high flying vulture, and people who foolishly shoot rifles into the sky pose a danger to the rest of us.

The second problem with shooting vultures is that they serve a vital purpose in nature by removing dead animals from the landscape and from along roads and highways.

The third problem with shooting vultures is that they have long been protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and are also protected non-game birds.

If the punishment should fit the crime, perhaps judges should be empowered to assign vulture shooters to spend a month picking up road kills from along some hot highway!

Forrest M. Mims III and his science are featured online at www.forrestmims.org and www.sunandsky.org/.