EXPLORING NATURE: VULTURES

I have a black vulture that sits atop a utility pole close to my house. It often peers down at me whenever I go out in my driveway and I sometimes get the idea it is waiting for me to keel over so it can come down and dine on my tasty corpse.

But that is probably not true. Vultures provide a valuable service by eating decaying carrion. But humans are not high on their preference list. In this area, whitetail deer who get hit by autos are much more dependable as a food source.

There are two types of vultures in Texas: The black and the turkey. The black vulture sports a dark naked head, whereas the turkey vulture’s naked head is red.