In my area there are numerous chicken farms and chicken processing plants. Occasionally while traveling from one location to the other a chicken escapes from the truck and drops to the road. This must be universally fatal for the chickens as I have never seen one walking along the roadside.
This Turkey Vulture has discovered a dead chicken and is enjoying a meal. He was very persistent and would only leave his lunch if a vehicle got a little too close for comfort. While I was watching the passing vehicles were very considerate of him and gave him extra room.
Turkey Vultures use their eyesight to find dead animals. They also use their sense of smell. When dead animals decay they produce a gas called mercaptan. Turkey Vultures have a very well developed area of their brain that is responsible for detecting this odor.
In spite of their size and unpleasant appearance Turkey Vultures are not aggressive if approached. If you frighten one by approaching too closely he may spit up a little of his foul smelling meal in your direction. If you come close to a nesting vulture it may pretend to be dead.
Groups of vultures circling in the air aren't always over a dead animal. This is especially true of the Turkey Vulture because they usually hunt alone. The circling group may be playing or they may be circling in order to gain higher altitude before a long trip (Disney World, perhaps?) I thought it amusing that a group circling in the air is called a "kettle."
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yes, they circle when gaining altitude and grouping up for migration.
ReplyDeleteAnd they will feed in groups, if the dinner is big enough. I have seen large groups in a snag over roadkill, waiting for vehicular traffic to thin, and once was able to pull my truck pretty close to a group feeding on a dead turtle. There are also roosts (abandoned mills and factories are favored) that host hundreds of mixed flocks of Turkey and Black Vultures.
As for those highly-developed areas of the brain, I think some people must have one for coffee. I had made coffee before my first session this morning, but not early enough and it wasn't ready when I took the client back. We had been talking for a few minutes when the heat cut on, and in through my vent wafts the scent of coffee. My client's nose went up, the rest of her body rose to follow it, and on her way out my door, she said, "I smell coffee!"