A little bit of research has shown me that the answer to this question all depends on where you come from. If you click here, you will find a brief overview of what "buzzard" can mean in various parts of the world.
For me, it's an American Black Vulture or a turkey vulture. Both are quite large birds (wingspans of 5 or 6 feet) that mainly feed on carrion, communicate with grunts and hisses, smell bad, and vomit as a form of self-defense. Although normally scavengers, black vultures will kill newborn animals and have been known to kill a cow while she's giving birth. They're most often seen on the side of the road eating roadkill or circling high in the sky riding thermals.
It was a little disconcerting to look out my window yesterday and see a tree in my backyard filled with buzzards. I'm not a very good photographer and don't have much zoom on my camera, but did the best I could to capture the sight. Besides the eight pictured here, there were a few more in neighboring trees.
5 comments:
Oh my!!! That's quite Poeish-looking!!!!
Gave me shivers....
I think they've migrated from our town...in the summer we can see two dozen of them sitting on the city water tower. It is a bit startling.
Hide the small dogs! LOL! What a spooky picture. I thought of that old Hitchcock movie, "The Birds". If they're still there today, RUN!!! xoxo
Oh, yeah. The black vulture is the gulf coast of Florida buzzard, too. I've seen sights like this on Florida country roads where an armadillo or something larger has been killed, and they gather on the tree between cars, then swoop down. Scary!!!
Quick, Kelly, take your pulse!
:^D
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