turkey vultures head down for a ing . Only the wingtips of the black meal , the black vultures follow . vulture have light pigmentation .
These two species can sometimes be hard to tell apart , par- on white gloves held splayed like
In flight the bird appears to have
ticularly when they are flying far “ jazz-hands .” above us . On the ground , the adult Now , back to my yard vulture . Her name is Gillis and I carry turkey vulture ’ s bright red head is a giveaway for identification purposes . The black vulture has gray , Wildlife Service and the Maryland
permits from the US Fish and
chainmail-looking facial skin . With Department of Natural Resources practice , you can detect a slight difference in the shapes of the beaks . property . She is an ambassador
( MDDNR ) to house her on my
In flight there are a few clues bird for her species . Most ambassador animals have suffered inju- to determine which vulture is which . The turkey vulture holds its ries and undergone rehabilitation wings in a V-shape or dihedral and but are unable to care for themselves in the wild . Physically , Gillis teeters slightly to balance its light body in the air currents . The black is in perfect shape . vulture is a somewhat smaller but She hatched in the spring stouter bird and holds its wings in of 2019 and , through a series of a straighter plane . The underside unfortunate events , was separated of the wings can also help with from her parents at two weeks old . identification . The turkey vulture ’ s MDDNR officers found her about trailing wing feathers are light gray a week later , severely dehydrated and as they soar above us , their and emaciated . They brought wings appear to have a silver lin- her to Owl Moon Raptor Center
Photo : Ken Clark
Finding a foster nest is the ideal solution for young , healthy nestlings that have lost parents . Unfortunately , this is what the OMRC staff were NOT able to find for Gillis .
( OMRC ) in Boyds for rehabilitation . Once OMRC staff deemed her healthy , they tried diligently to find a vulture nest site for fostering the young bird . Unfortunately , as time went by , no suitable sites were identified and Gillis became imprinted on her human caregivers .
Imprinting is a form of learning in a young animal ’ s life that helps with self-identification , future mate selection , and even habitat preference . Some animals imprint within hours — ducks , turkeys , and chickens , for example . Others , like vultures , have a lengthier process . Gillis most certainly had started imprinting on her parents and after separation switched to malimprinting on her human providers . No mechanism to reverse malimprinting has been determined .
American black vultures have prolonged juvenile stages and strong social ties , not unlike us . A young bird learns how to communicate and adhere to the social mores of vulture society . Without these skills , a bird risks being ostracized and even attacked by other vultures . In addition , a human-imprint regards people as a food source ; having a hungry black vulture approach you begging for food would be intimidating and potentially dangerous . For these reasons , birds like Gillis will live out their lives under human care . In captivity , they can live for 40- plus years .
My daily interactions with Gillis have proven to me that vultures are smart . She has learned the meaning of several words — up , off , target , stay , crate , and wings , to name a few . I have also watched her catch and eat live meat — cicadas , worms , baby mice and , once , a
12 plenty I autumn harvest 2022