Black Vultures on a Hog...Eating it...(Greg & StStephen)

[JP]

This hog was hit overnight. I travel this road quite a bit and it wasn't there the day before.















This is how I found the hog, already getting consumed in the morning.



















Funny watching a few of them come bounding in, too lazy or too full to fly











Pretty much the end of day one.









Got pretty close for this one, flash right off the camera









Pretty much the end of day two














A lot of flies on it as well

[BruteForce]

Excellent photos. Whereabouts are the vultures and wild hogs? Photos look like SE somewhere (AR, AL, GA)

[JP]

Close....Florida, the good ole' Sunshine State And thanks for the compliment.

[ststephen]

Nice shots! Very amazing to see so many Black Vultures feasting at once.

[JP]

They pretty much feed like that all the time. The bigger the meal, the more seem to stick around. But, there were still some perched across the street. Again, not a Turkey Vulture in sight.

[gnwatts]

The business end of their routine is not nearly as "soaring" as when they fly. Nice shots.

[JP]

No it's not Thanks!

[canyonphile]

These pics fall under the "gross but cool" category . Esp. where the vulture's head is inside of the carcass.

They seem to be happy to share, unlike some seagulls I remember seeing at Misquamacut beach in RI who were fighting over a bag of Smart Food someone had foolishly left unattended on their beach blanket .

How close were you for the photos, JP?

[JP]

You cannot handle Bin Laden's pics, but you like a vulture in a hog

I was pretty close with some of them, like when the head was inside. That was the flash right off the camera. Most found the meal far more worth it than fears they may have had with me

[canyonphile]

You cannot handle Bin Laden's pics, but you like a vulture in a hog

Pretty much! Although, I wouldn't say I "like" seeing pictures of a vulture head inside of a carcass, but they have that gross-fascinating thing going for them.

I was pretty close with some of them, like when the head was inside. That was the flash right off the camera. Most found the meal far more worth it than fears they may have had with me

No worries about your presence, when they are busy nomming down on a stinking, fly-covered hog !

They are cool pics, and I esp. like the close-up shots of the individual birds, and the one of the three of them perched on that old snag.

[ststephen]

Probably nobody cares about the taxonomy discussion we were having, but I can't help myself

I think I figured out why JP kept saying Eagles and Vultures were related. There are New World Vultures and Old World Vultures and while they superficially look similar there are a lot of differences. Most ornithologist attribute the similarities to convergent evolution and place the Condors of the Americas, Black, Turkey Vultures, etc. in a separate family Cathartidae whereas the Old World Vultures are in the same Accipitridae family as our Hawks and Eagles. There is a lot of debate about what Order to put Cathartidae under, ranging from keeping it under Falconformes (with the Hawks and Eagles) or putting it with Storks or putting it in its own Order.

One weird thing about Cathartidae is that they have no septum in their "nose" and you can through to the other side through the holes on the sides of their beaks

[JP]

but they have that gross-fascinating thing going for them.
when they are busy nomming down on a stinking, fly-covered hog !
They are cool pics, and I esp. like the close-up shots of the individual birds, and the one of the three of them perched on that old snag.

Sonya, it would be just as fascinating seeing a vulture in Bin Laden
Thanks!

Probably nobody cares about the taxonomy discussion we were having, but I can't help myself
One weird thing about Cathartidae is that they have no septum in their "nose" and you can through to the other side through the holes on the sides of their beaks

That's okay With that eagle and vulture thing, I have seen both the Bald and Cara eating carrion. I never seen a hawk on carrion. That's why I lean towards the ones that say they are in the same family.
No sense of smell, hmmmmm. They do find the dead stuff