Turkey Buzzard or Vulture?

 

The other day, I saw that a turkey buzzard was sunning itself on a dying if not yet dead pine tree. Later, I saw a vulture there.

But I didn't see them together. Honestly, this is the first time I've seen a turkey buzzard in quite a long time. The vultures moved in and the buzzards moved out.

They do the same thing - eat dead animals - but the vultures will kill live small animals, like newborn calves, while turkey buzzards are not so vicious.

I don't recall seeing the vultures when I was growing up, only turkey buzzards. The vultures allegedly came to roost here after some were released from the Radford Arsenal sometime in the 1990s. Why did they have them? I don't know.

Anyway, they are all over now, and I thought they'd run the turkey buzzards off, but maybe not.

According to my brief research, a turkey buzzard is actually a turkey vulture, us hillbillies just call it a buzzard. The other is a black vulture.

We don't like black vultures. They have killed some of our calves. I've gone and stood guard over newborn calves before to keep the black vultures away.