Photo by Bob Loudon
An underappreciated sanitation specialist, or how Carencro got its name
There is just something about vultures that people find unattractive; and, like Rodney Dangerfield, vultures don’t get any respect. Their habit of eating dead animal carcasses is not appealing, that’s true…yet, vultures are nature’s way of providing us with a waste management system—at no charge. They fill a unique niche in the ecosystem, and we would be in sanitation trouble without them.
The information in this article should, in the first place, help you regard vultures in a more positive light. In the second place, it provides possible fodder for your next cocktail party when small talk starts falling flat. The story will start like this: “I bet you didn’t know how Carencro got its name…”
Carencro is a small town about fifteen minutes north of Lafayette, where I grew up. “Carencro” was, and is, an interesting name; but its origin escaped me until I became a bird watcher and learned how nature and culture collided in this case.
Vultures are often called buzzards, an Old World name for a hawk or vulture; however, in Cajun French, the word for ”buzzard” means ”carrion crow.” According to legend, the town acquired its name before the Civil War from a large flock of black buzzards that moved in around the Vermilion River to feast on a fish kill.
And let’s not forget the power of pristine, scenic roadways in recommending certain areas for tourism; vultures play no small part in that regard, as well. Vultures devour the dead animals found along highways and fields. They also frequent garbage dumps and devour roadside litter, thus making the world a cleaner place.
Vultures can soar for hours, surveying the landscape in search of their next meal. The Old School framed vultures as menacing creatures, flying overhead looking for human prey. Because of this fear, vultures were poisoned with tainted meat until 1918 when they gained protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Like the name implies, Black Vultures have jet-black feathers; featherless, grayish-black wrinkled heads and necks; short tails; and hooked beaks. When the Black Vulture is in the air, its silvery or whitish wingtips can be seen. While they aren’t the biggest species of vulture, a 4.9-foot wingspan in a Black Vulture is respectable. They are considered raptors and can be seen soaring in mixed flocks with Turkey Vultures and hawks.
Like most vultures, the Black has a scaly head and walks well on land. Both of these traits are useful for scavengers. Naked heads and necks prove best for staying clean when poking around the inside of a carcass. No matter if it’s a fresh kill or a putrid mess, the vulture has excellent resistance to the toxins and bacteria in its decayed meal.
In Louisiana there are two vultures: the Black Vulture and the Turkey Vulture. They have an interesting relationship with each other. The Black Vulture doesn’t have a keen sense of smell but has great eyesight; it is just the opposite with the Turkey Vulture. The Blacks ride the thermals and watch the lower-flying Turkey Vultures. When the Turkey Vultures smell a meal and go for it, the Blacks, often in groups, follow suit, chasing the larger Turkey Vultures off.
Black Vultures are gregarious birds and are usually found in groups, either soaring overhead or at nighttime roosts. Roost sites are often close to water and next to obstructions that generate updrafts of air. The vultures take flight in the morning when the temperature has warmed enough to catch the thermals. In the morning, while the air is still cool, the flocks will perch in their roost where they spread their wings to catch the sun. The spread-wing stance is thought to serve several purposes: dry the wings, warm the body, and bake off bacteria.
The largest group of Black Vultures I’ve encountered at one time was at Alligator Bayou Swamp; the flock numbered seventy.
Other interesting tidbits about the sanitation specialist sure to wow at your next cocktail party include the Black Vulture’s inability to make calls. It lacks a voice box, so vocalizations are restricted to raspy hisses and grunts. With a repertoire of sounds as evolved as a cave man, the vulture’s image stays tarnished.
To further advance its bad reputation, Black Vulture droppings, like those of other vultures, can harm or kill trees and other vegetation. This raptor is also considered a threat to the safety of air traffic when an airport is located near a large roost. Vultures taking flight and airplanes use the same air column.
Black Vultures are monogamous and have strong social bonds with their families throughout their lives. They feed their young for up to eight months after fledging and are territorial over their roosting sites or food sources. They aggressively keep non-relatives away by pecking, biting, and wing-pummeling.
A word to the wise: never grab a vuIture. Besides the fact that its hooked beak is designed to rip apart flesh, it is known to regurgitate its last meal when disturbed. This behavior deters predators and makes taking flight easier by decreasing takeoff weight. The Black Vulture also uses a process known as urohidrosis whereby it defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces to cool itself—all part of its charm.
The Black Vulture population has rebounded despite earlier threats, which included egg thinning, lead poisoning, and automobile collisions. This is a good thing. Next time you see a group of vultures feasting on roadkill, remember, they are doing you a favor.
