English            -             Black Vulture

Portuguese     -             Urubu-de-cabeça-preta

Latin Name     -             Coragyps atratus

With sooty black plumage, a bare black head, and neat white stars under the wingtips, Black vultures are almost smart looking……. if they weren’t so ugly. (no offence)  They are compact birds with broad wings, short tails, and powerful wingbeats. The Black vulture (where possible) makes up for its poor sense of smell by following another type of vulture like the Turkey vultures (who have a more developed sense of smell) to carcasses. Black vultures lack a voice box and so their vocal abilities are limited to making raspy hisses and grunts.

Black Vultures live year-round in forested and open areas of the eastern and southern United States south to South America.  Most abundant at low elevations but usually forage in open habitats and along roads. Some live in semirural suburbs. Black vultures roost in undisturbed stands of tall trees.  Roost sites are often close to water and next to obstructions that generate updrafts of air, to help the flock take flight in the early morning.  

Black vultures feed almost exclusively on carrion, locating it by soaring high in the skies on thermals. From this vantage they can spot carcasses . Black vultures often gather in numbers at carcasses. Their carrion diet includes feral hogs, poultry, cattle, donkeys, opossums, striped skunks, and armadillos. Sometimes Black Vultures wade into shallow water to feed on floating carrion, or to catch small fish. They are also known to attack and kill new born calves. They also often investigate dumpsters and landfills to pick at human discards.

Black vultures keep the same partner for many years. In Brazil they normally lay eggs in September/October, they lay their eggs on the ground in a wooded area, a hollow log, or some other cavity, seldom more than 3 m  above the ground. While it generally does not use any nesting materials, it may decorate the area around the nest with bits of brightly colored plastic, shards of glass, or metal items such as bottle caps. Clutch size is generally two eggs, though this can vary from one to three. The egg is oval and on average measures 7.56 cm × 5.09 cm. The smooth, grey-green, bluish, or white shell is variably blotched or spotted with lavender or pale brown around the larger end. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after 28 to 41 days. Upon hatching, the young are covered with white down. They can feed their young up to eight months after fledging, and maintain strong social bonds with their families throughout their lives. Both parents feed the nestlings, regurgitating food at the nest site. The young remain in the nest for two months, and after 75 to 80 days they are able to fly. Predation of black vultures is relatively unlikely, though eggs and nestlings are readily eaten if found by ground predators. Due to its aggressiveness and size, few predators can threaten the fully-grown vulture. However, various eagles may kill vultures in conflicts.

 Black vultures roost in large flocks in the evening, using the communal roost as a meeting place where foraging groups can assemble and adults can reconvene with their young.. Black vultures aggressively prevent non relatives from joining them at roosts or following them to food sources. They attack each other by pecking, biting, wing-pummeling, and foot-grappling. 

Black vultures are not considered as “under threat” but in the past, there were concerns vultures were spreading disease. (despite a lack of scientific evidence) vultures were trapped, poisoned and shot by the thousands until the 1970s. Black Vultures have also faced threats including fewer available nest sites and collisions with cars.

Photo No 1 was taken in a small seaside village called Meaipe in Espirito Santo.

Photo No 2 was taken at a small fishing beach called Praia do Ribeiro, Vila Velha, Espirito Santo.