Each year, the Wildlife Center admits and treats about 50-60 Black and Turkey Vultures. Common causes of admission for these two species include lead toxicosis, gunshot injuries, and collisions with vehicles. Vultures are nature’s “clean-up crew” and an integral part of the balance of our ecosystem, despite the opinion of some that they are “gross.” ” Watch our episode of UNTAMED on vultures, and read below to learn more about these charismatic animals.
As nature’s cleanup crew, vultures—those sometimes misunderstood and denigrated birds—play a crucial role in our ecosystem. By clearing the area of rotting carcasses, these scavengers stop bacteria and illness from spreading. Let’s explore the world of vultures and learn more about their unusual wing-spreading behavior. However, did you know that vultures also have an interesting method of thermoregulation?
Black vs. Turkey Vultures: Spotting the Differences
Before we dive into thermoregulation, let’s first distinguish between the two common vulture species: Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures.
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Black Vultures: These birds sport black plumage, bare black heads and distinctive white patches under their primary feathers. They rely primarily on sight to locate food and can be identified in flight by their short tails and small white wing-tip patches.
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Turkey Vultures: These vultures have pale undersides to their flight feathers and dark plumage. They also have red heads devoid of feathers. Turkey Vultures, in contrast to Black Vultures, use their excellent sense of smell to locate carrion. When in flight, their tails are typically longer than those of Black Vultures, and their wings are primarily silvery-white on the undersides.
The Thermoregulation Trick: Why Vultures Spread Their Wings
You may see vultures perched in the early morning, their wings spread wide, as if they were enjoying the warmth of the sun. The “horaltic pose” helps vultures regulate their body temperature, which is an important function of this behavior.
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Sunbathing for Warmth: The horaltic pose increases the surface area of the vulture’s body, allowing the sun’s rays to warm them more efficiently. This is particularly important in the mornings when temperatures are cooler.
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Cooling Down: The spread wings also act as a cooling mechanism. During warmer months, vultures can prevent overheating by dissipating excess heat by increasing the surface area exposed to the air.
Additional Benefits of Wing-Spreading
Beyond thermoregulation, wing-spreading offers vultures other advantages:
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Parasite Control: The horaltic pose helps control ectoparasites like feather lice and flat flies. The increased exposure to sunlight and air can deter these pesky insects.
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Drying Feathers: To ensure optimal flight performance, vultures frequently spread their wings after a swim in the water or a downpour.
Vultures: More Than Just Scavengers
Vultures are often unfairly perceived as “gross” or “dirty” birds. However, their role in the ecosystem is crucial, and their unique adaptations, like wing-spreading, demonstrate their remarkable resilience and resourcefulness. By understanding and appreciating these fascinating creatures, we can dispel negative stereotypes and promote their conservation.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Why do vultures have featherless heads?
Vultures lack feathers on their heads to maintain hygiene while feeding. They often insert their heads deep inside carcasses, and the featherless head allows for easier cleaning.
- How do vultures disinfect themselves?
Vultures excrete waste, known as “muting,” onto their legs. The uric acid in their waste acts as a disinfectant, killing bacteria and other harmful microorganisms.
- How long do vultures live?
Vultures can live up to 25 years in the wild.
Additional Resources:
- Wildlife Center of Virginia: Vulture Facts: https://wildlifecenter.org/critter-corner/patients-menu-position-rule/vulture-facts
- All About Birds: Turkey Vulture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/lifehistory
Vultures are essential components of our natural world, playing a critical role in maintaining ecological balance. Their fascinating adaptations, like wing-spreading for thermoregulation, showcase their remarkable evolutionary strategies. By learning more about these misunderstood birds, we can appreciate their importance and promote their conservation efforts.
Black vs. Turkey Vultures
Black Vultures have black plumage, bare black heads, and white patches under their primary feathers. Black Vultures rely on sight to find their food.
When in flight, black vultures can be identified by the small white feather patches on the tips of their wings. Their tails are short and only extend the length of their legs.
Mature Turkey Vultures have dark plumage and featherless red heads; the undersides of the flight feathers are paler. An immature Turkey Vulture’s head is dark gray. Unlike most bird species, Turkey Vultures rely on their sense of smell to find prey.
In flight, Turkey Vultures wings are largely silvery-white on the undersides. Their tails are also generally longer than Black Vultures.
Vultures are scavengers and feed primarily on carrion. They rid the landscape of deteriorating carcasses and help curb the spread of dangerous diseases and bacteria. Their stomachs have strong enzymes that kill off dangerous toxins and microorganisms.
Vultures lack the powerful feet that are characteristic of true raptors like eagles and hawks. They have long toes with blunted talons, which make it easier for vultures to walk on the ground. Turkey Vultures, on the other hand, usually plant one or both feet on their meal when feeding, whereas Black Vultures typically do not use their feet.
Vultures have long, hooked bills designed for tearing pieces of food. Because they do not have feathers on their heads, vultures are able to keep themselves clean while they eat because they often insert their entire heads inside the carcasses they consume.
The legs of vultures are usually coated white, due to the dried uric acid of their excrement. Vultures will mute – excrete waste – onto their legs, serving two different purposes:
- Their thermoregulation, which lowers body temperature, is the reason they mute on their legs in hot weather.
- When vultures enter a carcass and come into contact with potentially contaminated flesh, they run the risk of coming into contact with bacteria. They sanitize themselves with the highly acidic uric acid and mute onto their legs.
- In order to enhance their body’s surface area and facilitate easier solar heating, vultures often sit with their wings spread wide in the morning. This is called the “horaltic pose”. Keeping your body in this position also helps you control ectoparasites like feather lice and flat flies.
- Black vultures are “family-oriented” birds because they tend to stay in family groups and feed their young for up to eight months after they have fledged.
- A voice box absent from vultures allows them to only produce rasping hisses and grunts.
- According to All About Birds, “the word vulture likely comes from the Latin vellere, which means to pluck or tear.” Turkey vultures’ scientific name, Cathartes aura, is far more aesthetically pleasing. It means either golden purifier or purifying breeze. “.
- Vultures can live to be 25 years old.
Vultures were once regarded as largely beneficial and were well-tolerated in human-populated areas. Even though there was plenty of evidence to the contrary, people began to view vultures negatively in the early 1900s because they believed they might spread disease.
You can help vultures by sharing your appreciation of these misunderstood scavengers with other people. Learn more about lead toxicosis and help us reduce the number of vultures and eagles that we see that are suffering from lead poisoning.