A side-by-side comparison of the lesser vulture (left) and the black vulture. (Photo from Shutterstock)
Although vultures aren’t winning any of the animal kingdom’s beauty contests, their appearance is in fact essential to their ecological role. These not-so-pretty birds contribute a lot to the environment by eating almost exclusively dead animals, and the lack of feathers on their heads means there’s nothing for bits of meat to get stuck in. Masu.
Locally, most of the time it’s just the turkey vulture, which eats dead things to keep the environment clean, but in many parts of North and South America, you’ll see two black vultures, which look very similar to the turkey vulture, in the streets. There are vultures. Even southern Illinois is part of the black vulture’s range, and it occasionally migrates further north.
Turkey vultures live throughout the United States, Mexico, most of South America, and the southernmost parts of Canada, but they are migratory, leaving their northern and northwestern ranges each winter, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Black vultures are not migratory and have a much smaller range, found throughout the southeastern United States, most of Mexico, and most of South America.
Black vultures are less common in the United States than white-browed vultures, and their range does not typically include northern Illinois, so if you see a vulture here, it’s almost always a white-browed vulture.
The most obvious difference between these two birds is their heads. Both birds have no feathers on their heads, which helps prevent them from getting dirty or contaminated when eating carrion. However, according to the National Park Service, the Eastern Griffon’s Vulture has a red head, while the Black Griffon’s Vulture has a black head. And while the Eastern Griffon’s beak is white, the Black Griffon’s is the same black color as the rest of its head.
Head color is the clearest and most obvious way to tell the two vultures apart, but juveniles can cause confusion. A Cornell Lab report says that juvenile Black-backed Vultures have darker heads and beaks and look very similar to Caucasian Vultures. Juvenile Caucasian Vultures look very similar to adult vultures.
The feathers of birds in flight may appear to be the same color, but they are actually different colors. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, if you look closely, you’ll see that black vultures have black feathers, while lesser vultures have dark brown feathers.
If you can’t tell the color when it’s flying overhead, look at its wings. When in flight, vultures look very similar, but you can tell which one you’re looking at by the presence of white feather spots on the underside of its wings. Both have white spots, but the spotted vulture’s spots are spread across its wings and are also on its tail, according to the National Park Service. The black vulture’s white feathers are found only at the tips of its wings.
On the ground, the two birds appear to be similar in size, although the Turkey Vulture is slightly larger. According to a report from the Cornell Lab, the Turkey Vulture stands 25 to 32 inches tall, while the Black Vulture typically stands 23 to 27 inches tall. The Turkey Vulture’s wingspan is about 5 1/2 to 6 feet, while the Black Vulture’s wingspan is 4 1/2 to 5 feet.
Both vultures feed almost exclusively on carrion, although the Black Vulture will occasionally kill its prey. Black Vultures have excellent vision, which helps them spot potential food from the air. Buffalo Vultures have an excellent sense of smell, allowing them to sniff out carrion more easily, reports the Cornell Lab. Black Vultures often chase and find turkey vultures. When competing for food sources, the Buffalo Vultures win because they are slightly larger, but Black Vultures often crowd together and can push the Buffalo Vultures aside.
