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18 August, 2019
Black vultures Vs Turkey vultures
Thesis statement: Turkey and black vultures are dead animal hunters but they have some striking differences.
Turkey vultures are found on Wyoming in warmer season where they eat the dead animals and keep the environment clear. On contrary black vultures are seen in southern parts of America. Both kinds are commonly seen in New England and exclusively depend on carrion. It is difficult to differentiate between a small black or turkey vulture. However differences are visible when one examines an adult vulture. The head of Turkey vulture is red while black vulture has a black or dark gray head. Turkey vulture has a white bill compared to the black bill of black vulture. Turkey vultures who haven’t reached an age of one year have same heads of black or gray as that of black vultures.
Attacking strategy of both vultures are different because Turkey vultures rarely attack any living prey and the one’s they target are only small and helpless. Black vultures kill skunks, leatherback turtle hatchlings, pigs, lambs, opossums and night-herons occasionally. Another common different between the two kinds include sense of smell. Turkey vultures are very good at sensing someone due to their capacity of smelling gasses even from five miles away. Black vultures are lacking this capability so for finding food they soar high and look for their prey. They have brilliant sense of vision that allow them to scan target from high above the sky. The feathers of both bird looks similar from a distance whoever clear differences can be noted under a bright light. Turkey vulture has two-toed appearance and the color from beneath is white silver. The tail has a silver gray color that is not noticed during flight of the bird. The color of black vultures is dark and patches are visible on the wingtip. It seems like they are wearing gloves due to the patches.
Solidarity is another feature that make Turkey vultures distinct from black vultures. Turkey vultures prefer to capture their prey alone in solidarity. However black vultures hunt their prey in large groups. The nature and behavior analysis of the two birds depicts that black vultures are more aggressive. A close examination of the flight of bother vultures exhibit some differences such as black vultures are known for their shorter tails because their tails end near their toes. Compared to them, Turkey vultures makes a V shape when they are flying on the sky. Turkey vultures can soar high for longer durations such as up to 6 hours, without flapping their wings. The wing beats are even slower when they flap during their flights. On contrary black vultures flap more often and quickly. Their flight strategy is different because they don’t teeter like the Turkey vultures CITATION Tra05 \l 1033 (DeVault, Reinhart and Brisbin).
The comparison of the two birds depicts that they have a common goal of hunting small animals or dead remains but have physical differences. The color distinction makes two birds different such as Turkey vultures have red head compared to the black head of black vultures. The flight strategy of the birds also exhibit some differences because Turkey vultures soar more high without flapping their wings compared to the black vultures. Black vultures have better sense of vision while turkey vultures have better sense of smell. Turkey vultures hunt in solidarity that is against the group hunting strategy of black vultures.
Work Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY DeVault, Travis L., et al. "Flight Behavior of Black and Turkey Vultures: Implications for Reducing Bird-Aircraft Collisions." The Journal of Wildlife Management 69.2 (2005): 601-608.
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