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Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
31.1117, -97.4696
Field Notes
Description:
Black Vultures are large raptors. In flight, they hold their broad, rounded wings flat and angled slightly forward. The tail is very short and rounded. They have small, bare heads and narrow but strongly hooked bills.
These birds are uniform black except for white patches or “stars” on the underside of their wingtips (this can be hard to see in strong light or from far away). The bare skin of the head is black.
Habitat:
Miller Springs Park is a 360-acre park located below Belton Lake, on the Leon River, in Bell County, Texas. It contains diverse riparian terrain, including limestone bluffs, estuarial wetlands, mountain cedar hilltops, and riverside cottonwood stands. Numerous trails traverse prairie-like open spaces and forests of native cedar elm, live oak, and red oaks. Recent floods have created a new canyon that reveals numerous layers of sedimentary rock and fossils. Area wildlife includes white-tail deer, red foxes, coyotes, black squirrels, armadillos, and about 200 species of birds in the course of the year.
Notes:
As I was taking some photos along the trail, I heard a loud flapping Two black vultures had landed in a nearby tree. The one in particular seemed to watch me curiously.
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