On my lunch hour hike today I came across this dead turkey vulture, a.k.a. buzzard, on the trail.

It was under a high voltage line. I don't think the wires are close enough for it to arc them with its wings, but who knows?

So its been there for a while and starting to stink, and I'm thinking, what's gonna eat this carcass? Other vultures won't touch it. I know, I know, tastes like chicken.
Sic semper vulturecapitalistis

Rats, bugs, dogs?

Raccoons and Coyotes.

Maggots... a sea of maggots.

I grew up around these things. Can't believe anything other than insects or microbes would eat one. Looked it up on wiki. Yuck:

"The Turkey Vulture has few natural predators. Adult, immature and fledging vultures may fall prey to golden eagles, bald eagles and great horned owls, while eggs and nestlings may be preyed on by mammals such as raccoons, virginia opossum and foxes. Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes."

They are pretty amazing in their own grotesque way -- a group of them can pick a deer carcass clean in a few hours. Amazing gliders. But pretty horrific up-close.

Just to be a nit-picky shit... that is a black vulture. Turkey vultures have read faces. You can also tell the difference in the sky. Black vultures have white only on the tips of the underside of the wing (which is often hard to see at all from a distance) where turkey vulture wings have almost the entire trailing half of the wing covered in white feathers.

Turkey vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id

Black vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture/id

Carry on.

senorgrand wrote: But pretty horrific up-close.

They bear a striking resemblance to Larry King.

I work on the 10th floor of a 12 story building in urban Arlington, VA, across the river from DC (a "logic-free zone"). The building has a number of 'balconies' at the 10th floor level. A mated pair of black vultures have been hanging around for a few months and are often seen just outside our windows -- quite a shock the first time but one gets used to them. They successfully brooded one egg and we now have a cute little fuzzy vulture baby on one of the balconies. It is getting its flight feathers and is exercising its wings. I suspect it will be gone in a few weeks.

Mom and Dad vulture are good parents. You don't want to ask what the feedings are like though.

whitey wrote:

senorgrand wrote: But pretty horrific up-close.

They bear a striking resemblance to Larry King.

Vultures have better taste in suspenders and may have actually been friends with Ernie Kovaks.

Larry King, ha! Good one.

But to me, the bird reminds me of someone else:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitting_Image

Xela

senorgrand wrote:Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance... It will also sting if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes."

This sounds like it could be a practical alternative to concealed carry for self-defense.

mark wrote:Just to be a nit-picky shit... that is a black vulture. Turkey vultures have read faces. You can also tell the difference in the sky. Black vultures have white only on the tips of the underside of the wing (which is often hard to see at all from a distance) where turkey vulture wings have almost the entire trailing half of the wing covered in white feathers.

Turkey vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id

Black vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture/id

Carry on.

But according to your link and also wikipedia, the Black Vulture's range does not include northern and central California.

I did notice the head was not the familiar red, but I assumed it had darkened after death (or perhaps from being roasted on the power lines).

Now, if it is a Black Vulture, I suppose this individual could had strayed 500 miles from its normal range (climate change?). And possibly killed, somehow, by the territorial local turkey vultures.

larrymod wrote:So its been there for a while and starting to stink, and I'm thinking, what's gonna eat this carcass?

vulture.jpg

Sic semper vulturecapitalistis

Newt Gingrich?

vultures smell dead when they are still alive,nasty critters but every creature has a purpose

Who scavenges the scavengers?

the comedian wrote:

larrymod wrote:So its been there for a while and starting to stink, and I'm thinking, what's gonna eat this carcass?

vulture.jpg

Sic semper vulturecapitalistis

Newt Gingrich?

I was going to say Tea Baggers...

Y'all are running true to form! You started out answering my question literally (ever helpful!) and are now venturing into the realm of political metaphor.

This is as I expected, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

ahhh.....true, they don't occur out west. You are prbably right, th head must have darkened aftr death. My bad.

larrymod wrote:

mark wrote:Just to be a nit-picky shit... that is a black vulture. Turkey vultures have read faces. You can also tell the difference in the sky. Black vultures have white only on the tips of the underside of the wing (which is often hard to see at all from a distance) where turkey vulture wings have almost the entire trailing half of the wing covered in white feathers.

Turkey vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id

Black vulture:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture/id

Carry on.

But according to your link and also wikipedia, the Black Vulture's range does not include northern and central California.

I did notice the head was not the familiar red, but I assumed it had darkened after death (or perhaps from being roasted on the power lines).

Now, if it is a Black Vulture, I suppose this individual could had strayed 500 miles from its normal range (climate change?). And possibly killed, somehow, by the territorial local turkey vultures.