The Black Vulture is the most social of the vulture family. It will gather in flocks numbering in the hundreds. Many birds found in a flock may be related, as extended family units tend to live and roost together.

Length: 55.9 - 64 cm

Physical characteristics:
The plumage of the Black Vulture is entirely black except for the distinguishing white patch on the underside of the wing tips. The head is free of feathering, and the skin is gray-black. This vulture has a short, squared-off tail, thick gray legs and a long, hooked beak. Sexes are similar.

Voice:
This species is usually silent; may hiss or bark.

Breeding habitat:
The Black Vulture prefers open spaces - lowlands, open fields, garbage dumps and areas of human habitation. It tends to avoid densely forested areas.

Mating system:
Monogamous, long term pair bonds (possibly lifelong) are formed; a pair produces one brood in a season.

Nest:
This species does not construct a nest. The eggs are generally laid in an available hollow, such as a tree stump, hollow log, a shallow cave or a hole under some rocks. They may also be laid on the ground under dense vegetation.

Eggs:
The female Black Vulture may lay between 1 - 3 eggs, but the usual number is two. The eggs are gray-green and often wreathed with brown markings. 76 mm (3.0'').

Chick development:
Both parents incubate the eggs for 37 - 48 days. The chicks are semi-altricial upon hatching. Both parents care for the young - almost constantly for the first two weeks, then somewhat less conscientiously- until the chicks fledge at 80 - 94 days of age.

Diet:
This vulture eats mostly carrion (seeming to prefer large carcasses), but will occasionally prey on small mammals or reptiles, young birds and fish. It relies on its sight more than its sense of smell to locate food. It can often be found amid Turkey Vultures, who more typically hunt by scent. If food is found, the more aggressive Black Vulture will drive the Turkey Vultures away. The chicks are fed regurgitant.

Conservation Biology:
Although the Black Vulture has been affected by DDT and other pesticides, its population has held steady. In some areas its numbers have increased, and its range is expanding northward.

The Black Vulture is on the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program Watch List, moved from species of "Special Concern" status because the population appears to be increasing (2001).

Distribution:
Breeding: The Black Vulture is found in the southeast quarter of the United States, throughout Mexico and into South America.
Winter: This species is non-migrating.

In Park: Black Vultures are uncommon but regular visitors during migration and the breeding season. Vultures are most likely to be seen over open areas such as Cades Cove or at high elevations riding the thermals. There is no record of Black Vultures nesting in the park.

References:

Alsop, F. J. III. 1991. Birds Of The Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains History Association, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117: 847-858.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2002. Forty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 119: 897-906.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds: the Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands, 7th ed

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: a Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York.

Elphick, C., J. B. Dunning, Jr., and D. A. Sibley, eds. 2001. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the Birds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press.