Their heads are black; well, at least dark gray, with a warty texture. In flight, they show white ends to the wings on the flight feathers and have shorter tails than Turkey Vultures. Turkey Vultures glide longer and flap slower. Black Vultures are here year round but often found in more wooded areas. The mesas of the Callahan Divide, especially areas around the Abilene State Park, are excellent places to find them. In contrast to Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures are more predatory. While still relying on dead animals for a majority of their diet, they will occasionally hunt live prey, taking everything from skunks and opossums to fish and frogs.
They can also attack newborn livestock including pigs, lambs, and calves, and for this reason, sometimes draw conflict with ranchers. They also lack much of a sense of smell, instead watching Turkey Vultures and following them in to carrion. So why do so many Texans call them buzzards?
The problem started when our ancestors arrived in the New World. They were familiar with a type of hawk back home, a bird called the Common Buzzard and other similar hawks.
Collectively, they called these birds buzzards. Interesting side note: These hawks are actually closely related to some of our hawks, like the Red-tailed Hawk. In flight, these hawks like to soar for extended periods of time, efficiently riding thermals of rising warm air, with hardly a need to flap their wings.
Do you see where this is going? Brown, L. Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World. New York, New York. Economidy, J. February Harrison, C. Kirk, D. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The Birds of North America, Inc. Oberholser H. Kincaid, The Bird Life of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas. Pulich, W. Both sexes rotate turns at incubating the two three-inch long bluish eggs. The young are tended to after hatching for approximately five months by both parents.
By that time, the young have obtained their ability to fly and developed their sense of smell, which is the primary way of finding their preferred food items, just as in the Turkey Vulture. The main diet of this new world vulture is carrion, or dead animals. However, this species is known to be more aggressive than other species of vultures and may actually attack and kill its prey.
It is also known to dominate a carcass, not allowing any other species of vertebrates near the flesh buffet until it has achieved its fill.
Just as with Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures are commonly referred to as buzzards, although this name is technically not correct as buzzards are group of Old World species. Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster programs, as well as conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues. This may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area. Urban and Suburban County Committees. The Farm Bill directed USDA to form urban county committees as well as make other advancements related to urban agriculture, including the establishment of the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
FSA established county committees specifically focused on urban agriculture. The urban county committees will work to encourage and promote urban, indoor and other emerging agricultural production practices. Additionally, the new county committees may address areas such as food access, community engagement, support of local activities to promote and encourage community compost and food waste reduction.
Urban committee members are nominated and elected to serve by local urban producers in the same jurisdiction. These members are a vital link in the effective administration of USDA programs and are responsible for carrying out programs in full accordance with the regulations, national and state policies, procedures, and instructions. Urban county committee members will provide outreach to ensure urban producers understand USDA programs and serve as the voice of other urban producers and assist in program implementation that support the needs of the growing urban community.
Urban county committees must see that county office operations are supportive and that they receive timely and quality service by carrying out responsibilities effectively, efficiently, and impartially.
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