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This may seem random, but if possible I need the input of some people within the (American) black vulture's range: mostly the southern U.S. into central America.

Have you ever seen black vultures hauling carcasses off to the side of the road, or moving carcasses in any intentional way? Have you seen them eating carcasses in the middle of a road?



I know I probably won't get any responses but I could hope.

I don't know if the 'turkey buzzards' here in WV are Black Vultures... but I've seen them clustered around roadkill on the sides of the road, without moving as cars go by.

Never seen them moving carcasses, tho.

Have seen a couple crows feasting on a small kill still in the road, and pulling the carcass a little as it tries to get a last bite before escaping the oncoming car.

Turkey buzzards/vultures are a different species. They're pretty easy to tell apart. Turkey vultures have brown feathers (and usually pinkish heads). Black vultures have black feathers and gray heads.

Well... all I know is that we have them around here all year long, and I rarely see them close enough to see the head-color.

There is actually a resident population of black vultures here in Tampa they like to live on the Sykes building. I've only seen them move a carcass once and that was a squirrel that had been flattened in the school parking lot. So I honestly don't know if that helps.

Thank you, SB! That kind of information is exactly what I was looking for.

Explanation: I had an old friend who swore that black vultures (but not turkey vultures) dragged carcasses off to the sides of the road so they could eat unmolested. He said he always saw black vultures on the side of the road, but turkey vultures were sometimes seen flying away from a carcass in the middle of the road, as were crows. Not once though did he ever catch a black vulture moving a carcass. I hadn't thought of it in years until something my brother said the other day made me remember it.

true, though again i must say I've only seen the behavior once and it was a squirrel, small little carcass and it just kinda picked it up and left with it.

Mayabird wrote:Have you ever seen black vultures hauling carcasses off to the side of the road, or moving carcasses in any intentional way? Have you seen them eating carcasses in the middle of a road?

Maya: is there a difference between buzzards and vultures, do the two names define the same animal, like lawyer and attorney means the same thing. (Ha Ha, get the pun?)

I'm in south-central Texas, and I've spent a lot of time on back roads where there's always roadkill, and on ranches where animals do sometimes die, and lately I've noticed large black carrion birds with feathered heads and necks, and I've been told that they're buzzards, hence my question about buzzards and vultures.

And no, I've never seen them move a carcass. Sorry. But they're probably not your black vultures. Later...

In Texas, there's no difference between buzzards and vultures. They're just two different names for the same birds.

In official ornithology parlance, there is a difference. Buzzards are old-world raptors that mostly hunt while vultures are scavengers. We'd call them hawks if we did have them. We don't have 'true' buzzards in the Americas but we do have vultures.

If they black with feathers on their heads, they're probably crows. Crows eat carrion as well (they'll eat anything, really) and they're a lot bigger than people think.