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From: mad@descartes.math.purdue.edu (Michael A. Dritschel)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: The buzzards of Hinkley
Message-ID: <2510@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 10 Dec 90 14:08:36 GMT
References: <532@research.cc.flinders.oz> <1990Dec6.130950@Unify.com> <1990Dec7.150814.12291@granite.cr.bull.com> <1990Dec9.010930.15344@redpoll.neoucom.edu>
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In-reply-to: red@redpoll.neoucom.edu's message of 9 Dec 90 01:09:30 GMT

In article 3295, Richard Depew writes,
>Speaking of buzzards, my boss had a couple of them perched on his
>fence this spring (about the same time they returned to Hinkley), and
>reported that they were staring at his neighbor's garden.  Then he
>remembered that his neighbor had hit a deer with his car the previous
>fall, killing it, and had buried it in his garden.  He surmised that
>the vultures had been attracted by an odor from the buried deer. 
>Either that, or the buzzards had bugged the deer before they left for
>Florida the year before.  :-)


Unfortunately I do not remember the source for this, but someone has
studied what cues turkey vultures use in locating their next meal.  A
ripe dear carcass was placed under a tarp so that it could be smelled
but not seen, and even though turkey vultures were common in the area,
they did not respond to this.  However, as soon as the carcass was
uncovered, it was immediately found by the vultures.  So I doubt the
turkey vultures were responding to the remains of a buried deer.
Perhaps there was something else in your boss' neighbor's yard.
Another possibility is that they were just sunning themselves.  On
numerous occasions I have seen a group of vultures perched in a tree
in the early morning with their wings spread cormarant style,
presumably warming themselves.  An impressive sight.

Michael Dritschel         mad@math.purdue.edu