American Black Vulture, Black Vulture

Looks like I can't actually delete or edit comments on here so I just wanted to come back with an update. My feelings on these birds have totally changed within the first year or two of knowing them; they're amazing. They're real friendly and super curious about everything we do. They had started out coming up to the house on hot days for a drink of water, and now they come hang out with us on the deck, peer through the windows, and accompany my spouse when he's on the roof cleaning gutters. They're pretty good-sized birds, very handsome, with an immense wingspan. Other than the smell, and occasionally startling us when they peer through the upstairs bathroom window, they're good neighbors, and I'm happy to know them.

They've been wandering northward in later years. My parents said they stalk people walking dogs in their community in southeastern PA. No incidents yet that they know of, but they're pretty intimidating.

We had a pair nesting in our old barn of the house we brought this summer in Central NJ. We'll be boarding up the hayloft before they return. Huge, handsome birds, and we love watching them, but yeah, more aggressive than our native resident turkey vultures. They don't wait for things to die. Don't trust them with young livestock.

These Birds are very regal and have eyes that are haunting and almost human like and they appear to be harmless and respectable, but let me tell you they are nothing like the similar more scavange oriented brown turkey vultures of the northern part of the U.S. These black vultures unlike turkey vultures who circle and eat mostly dead things or wounded almost dead or sickly baby birds and squirrels and roadkill, these black vultures of the southern half of the U.S are extremely aggressive and will in pacts hunt and attack large healthy animals and even humans and other large mammals like small dear, fox, dogs, etc, for any reason, if you are in their way or if they are hungry enough, anything is fair game to their aggresion, they are to be respected from a distance only. Although they are u... read moresed to humans in suburban areas and are approachable and not fearful of you, you need to fear them, be they by themselves and especially in large packs while eating something dead or something large they've killed. Be warned. Not a turkey vulture!,Very dangerous bird.