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Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

Photo by MaryEvans2
Published on Project Noah
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28.9433, -81.3398

Field Notes

Description:

Large soaring bird.
Broad wings with large whitish patch at tip.
Short, square tail. Body black.
Dark gray head unfeathered and wrinkled.
Frequently flaps while soaring.

Habitat:

The Black Vulture roosts in dense forests with large trees, and searches open spaces for carrion. Black Vultures are more common in flat lowlands than in higher elevations. They often soar higher than Turkey Vultures and gather in large numbers at roadkill and other carrion.

Though not the prettiest birds, they are very useful - just think how diseased and smelly our roads would be if these guys didn't stop by to clean it up!

Notes:

One-on-one, a Black Vulture can be dominated by the slightly larger Turkey Vulture. But, Black Vultures rarely travel alone. Flocks of Black Vultures can quickly take over a carcass and drive the more solitary Turkey Vultures away.
Due to much debate, and mistake I made during posting - the flight photo has been reposted under the correct ID and information. You can view the correct information for the debated photo (which is no longer here) on its corrected posting listed here:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/10125643
Thanks all, for you help with this one.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black_vulture/lifehistory/ac

The first photo of vulture in flight was decided to be a Juvenile Turkey Vulture and not a black vulture, so it has been removed from this spotting.
Thanks to those of you who helped correct the ID :)

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (23)
MaryEvans2
Thank you Malcolm :) good to know that even the experts make mistakes sometimes.
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
There are numerous occasion when even experts are wrong, even after examining birds in the hand. Many species have recently been split into additional species after DNA testing and no doubt this will continue to occur. I send some of my pictures to another site (birdforum.org) for ID and on occasions this can result in lively arguments. The PN policy is to go with a suggestion if there are 3 or more +'s on it, but we have to accept that even these can be wrong sometimes.
MaryEvans2
@Malcolm - shall do, and thanks for the suggestion @Christy - funny thing is this ID was also debated in another group where I had posted this same flight photo, and there, they all decided it was a black vulture, which is what I went with - learning the birds is not always a simple task...and I am definitely no expert
bayucca
Yes, please! Add the Turkey link, since there are some interesting relationships between Black and Turkey vultures. One is that Turkey vultures have quite a well formed ability to smell carcasses whereas the other vultures "must see" it.
ChristyHolland
Totally agree!! I love that if you're wrong, people will tell you! So many species I didn't know existed!! And you're right, so many places I'll never visit (sigh)...but here at least we get to see what's out there!
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
Mary, may I suggest that you add a link here (in the notes section) to the picture of the Turkey Vulture so that we can all find it, since it has been talked about so much on this spotting.
MaryEvans2
@ChristyHolland, Not a pest at all - I would much rather have it correctly Identified and love learning. Which is what I feel Project Noah is all about (for me anyway), I love seeing all the different wildlife in places I have never been (and never will be able to travel to) and learning about them. I don't want to give incorrect or misleading information.I will be reposting the flight shot as a Juvenile turkey vulture as earlier suggested.
ChristyHolland
Sorry for being a pest!! ;-) This pic is probably a juvenile - they don't get the red head for several years (he looks a little pink!). The nostril is very distinct - you can see through it...they have such a wonderful sense of smell...some places use the smell of rotten meat in gas lines to see where gas leaks are...they just follow the turkey vultures! (you can see I'm a bit partial!) ;-)
MaryEvans2
Thanks Christy, if you notice we have been discussing the first photo, and it wasn't really decided (since they were all seen and taken at the same time) if the first photo is a young turkey or just a black with his head tilted in a strange way. the wing colors were all dark, no white as on the turkey vultures - and no red on the face, which is why I haven't moved it yet. Beings you have worked around these birds (and I only photograph them), and Sam5 agrees with you, I will move the first photo to its own spot. Thank you all for such wonderful information
ChristyHolland
Still love these shots Mary, but I think you need to separate the 2 species...your first pic is the turkey vulture, so when the spotting displays, it says Black Vulture and has a Turkey Vulture showing. I've only seen black vultures a couple times, but they've all got such funny personalities!! I help at a raptor rehab center in Colorado, and we have an educational turkey vulture named Chuck who is the star of our facility! (and he knows it!). ;-)
MaryEvans2
Thank you Sam5 for the information..always glad and eager to learn more. Thank you everyone for the nice comments.
Atul
superb pics Mary!
MelissaFerguson
Wow Mary, you got some fantastic shots of these birds!! Great job!
LucBertrand
very nice serie of pictures ! congratulation MaryEvans2 !
Sam5
Yes the 2 species can be found together especially when feeding. Turkey vultures have a slightly better sense of smell and will find a kill first then the blacks will frequently follow in second. The blacks can be a bit more aggressive in can chase the turkey vultures away if their isn't enough food for everyone. The Bald Eagles and Caracaras will also follow vultures to an easy meal.
MaryEvans2
@Sam - would a turkey vulture travel with black vultures? I always thought they avoided each other. Sure it doesn't look different due to the angel of its head? I am wondering if I should remove it and post it by itself as a juvenile turkey vulture...
Sam5
I agree with you ChristyHolland the 1st picture is an immature Turkey Vulture and not a Black Vulture
ChristyHolland
Great pictures! I love these guys! However, I think your first pic is a juvenile turkey vulture...they have a black head that's a bit bulkier than the black vulture, and you can see through their large nose holes...their tail is longer than the black vulture...someone else have an opinion?
MaryEvans2
Thank you all kindly. @Malcolm Wilton-Jones, very interesting, I had no idea there were two birds called a black vulture. Thank you for the information as I love learning new things :)
KarenL
Lovely series - the first photo is stunning!
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
Super spotting and photographs. This is a prime example of names getting mixed up! In Europe we also have a Black Vulture but it is not the same bird at all, being "Aegypius monachus". This confusion could be avoided by using the alternate names of European BV and American BV but these are seldom mentioned anywhere! The European bird is also known by the rarely used name of Cinereous Vulture.

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Photographed
PublishedFebruary 10, 2012

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