Black vultures live in forested and open areas of the eastern and southern United States south to South America. Their range has expanded northward in the past several decades and are seen regularly as far north as New England. They breed in the forested areas but forage in open habitats and along roads.

Black vultures feed almost exclusively on carrion. Their bodies process diseases like botulism, leprosy and rabies, and stop these diseases from infecting others. They are the sanitation crew of the environment and I shudder to think what it would be like without them.

Because warm air rises along with odors soaring high in the skies helps them find roadkill easily. This bird’s-eye view allows them to be on the lookout for carcasses and Turkey vultures. Turkey vultures have a more developed sense of smell, and black vultures will take advantage of that by following them toward food. They often gather in numbers at carcasses and then chase turkey vultures from the food.

Sometimes black vultures wade into shallow water to feed on floating carrion, or to catch small fish. They will occasionally kill small mammals, and they have been seen at dumpsters picking through the trash.

Black vultures are monogamous, staying with their mates for many years, all year round. Pairs nest in dark cavities such as caves, hollow trees, abandoned buildings, brush piles, thickets, and stumps. Mated pairs reuse successful sites year after year.

Clutch sizes are between one and three eggs with only one clutch being raised per breeding season. The eggs are incubated for approximately 35 days, and the young remain in the nest for 70-75 days. The young are fed by the parents up to eight months after they fledge, and a strong social bond is maintained with their families throughout their lives. Black vultures roost in large flocks rejoining their young toward the end of the day. They aggressively prevent nonrelatives from joining them at roosts or following them to food sources.

According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, population numbers have significantly increased for these vultures between 1966 and 2014. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population of this very wide-ranging bird at about 20 million birds.

In the 1800s people regarded black vultures as beneficial scavengers and tolerated them around meat markets in the southeastern U.S. This attitude changed in the early 20th century, when some people became concerned about vultures spreading disease despite evidence that this was not true. Thousands of vultures were trapped, shot and poisoned until the 1970s.

Other threats to black vultures included fewer available nest sites and collisions with cars. Like the American bald eagle and the osprey, they were vulnerable to egg-thinning effects of DDT. Vultures as well as other large birds that scavenge are susceptible to lead poisoning from lead shot that remains in carcasses.

Besides all this interesting information, I thought I would share my favorite vulture facts with you! No feathers on their heads mean they stay cleaner while on cleanup duty. Bacteria cannot cling to their faces very easily. Neat, huh?

The best fact I have is that they use (urate) bodily fluids to keep comfortable and disease-free. As the liquid evaporates, it cools the vulture’s body in the same way sweat works on humans. The acid in the urine simultaneously destroys harmful pathogens from their last dinner.

Cool, huh?

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center. The center is located at 151 E. White Bear Drive in Summit Hill. Call 570-645-8597 for information.