BLACK VULTURES on a deer carcass. I took this this morning on the way to coffee. This deer was a lost cripple after being shot — no way he could have jumped the double fences on this horse property after a car impact.
Black Vultures mostly use sight to find carcasses, often following Turkey Vultures which can smell the dead from a remarkable distance.
For years, it was believed that all vultures were raptors, members of the order Falconiformes.
In 1994, however, it was discovered that vultures on this side of the Atlantic actually share a common ancestor with storks and ibises. Now, New World vultures are recognized as Ciconiiformes, in the family Cathartidae, while European, African, and Asian vultures are recognized as Old World vultures (family Accipitridae, subfamily Aegypiinae). There are 15 species of Old World Vultures and 7 Species of New World Vultures.
What is a buzzard?
In the U.S. vultures are often called "buzzards," but in actually a Buzzard is a European member of the hawk family. The European buzzard, Buteo buteo, is closely related to the American Red Tailed Hawk.
Most of the vultures you see in the U.S. are Turkey Vultures. Black Vultures also exist in the South, moving North, but they do not have the graceful flight of the Turkey Vulture and are not as common.
California Condors (a type of vulture) have been retintroduced in California and Arizona, but are so rare you are unlikely to see one in your entire life unless you make a special trip to the remote areas where they have been released.
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