mhnadel@gryphon.CTS.COM (Miriam Nadel) (06/23/87)
One of the less enlightened people I work with believes that buzzards and
vultures are completely distinct types of birds. Please can someone settle
an argument and provide us with lots of nice latin names since the dictionary
doesn't?
Miriam Nadel
--
"The real bombs are ideas." - Alekos Panagoulis
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UUCP: {philabs, trwrb}!cadovax!gryphon!mhnadeldmark@sunybcs.uucp (David M. Mark) (06/23/87)
In article <773@gryphon.CTS.COM> mhnadel@gryphon.CTS.COM (Miriam Nadel) writes: >One of the less enlightened people I work with believes that buzzards and >vultures are completely distinct types of birds. Please can someone settle >an argument and provide us with lots of nice latin names since the dictionary >doesn't? > >Miriam Nadel > In a way, your associate was right, but almost certainly for the wrong reasons. The word "Buzzard" is not used in the "official" name of any North American bird. In colloquial American English, it refers only to the vultures, Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture. However, in a way, both terms are somewhat misused. In English English, the day-flying birds of prey ("raptors") have common names which line up pretty well with the scientific genus names: "Hawk" is used only for the short-winged, bird-eating raptors of genus Accipiter. (US birds of this genus are Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Cooper's Hawk.) "Buzzard" is used for brad-winged, soaring, short-tailed raptors, mostly of genus Buteo. (US members of Buteo include Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Broad-winged, and Red-shouldered "Hawks".) "Vulture" is used for large, carrion-eating birds, of genus Gyps and others. (No North American birds of this group.) All of these birds are members of family Accipitridae. When the US was settled, English names were appied to North American birds rather hap-hazardly by non-biologists. They ended up using the word "Hawk" for just about all the diurnal birds of prey, except for the really big ones (Eagles). We have in the Americans a unique family of carrion-eating birds, which inludes the Condors, plus the things we here call "Vultures". It turns out that their similarity to the Old-world vultures is due almost entirely to convergent evolution. Recent work on DNA-DNA hybridization by biologists Sibley and Alquist has shown that the closest relatives of these birds are not the raptors but the storks (!). (See an article by S & A in Scientific American in 1986 or 1985.) So, if the European names were used properly, our Buteos should be called "Red-tailed Buzzard", "Broad-winged Buzzard", etc. And, if one were to try to be REALLY correct, the Turkey "vulture" and Black "vulture" would have to be renamed. There has been a tendency over the last decade or so to try to get agreement on names throught the English-language world. However, because "buzzard" as a synonym for "vulture" for the North American carrion-eating birds is so entrenched in American English, "Buzzard" would never be acceptable for our Buteos. So, in colloquial American English, "buzzard" = "vulture". However, in formal ornithological English names, "Buzzard" applies to genus Buteo in England, and "vulture" appies to rather un-related but superficially similar carrion-eating birds in the old and new worlds. I hope this clrifies the situation!!!! David Mark, SUNY-Buffalo Geography dmark@sunybcs dmark@buffalo geodmm@ubvms.BITNETm
qaseb@hoqax.UUCP (BADIAN) (06/24/87)
Sorry, I don't know the Latin names, but I know that there are two species of vultures in the US (well, at least the Eastern US, and I'm almost sure it's the same out west). The two species are the turkey vulture and the black vulture. People often refer to the turkey vulture as a turkey buzzard, or merely a buzzard. Since I don't live down South where most of the black vultures live I don't know if they are called buzzards too. Identification is easy. Turkey vultures have red heads while black vultures have black heads. Both species are common within their ranges. Sharon Badian ihnp4!hoqax!qaseb
corey@homxb.UUCP (C.GEIGER) (06/25/87)
In article <942@hoqax.UUCP>, qaseb@hoqax.UUCP (BADIAN) writes: > > The two species are the turkey vulture and the black vulture. >Since I don't live down South where most of the black vultures live > I don't know if they are called buzzards too. Identification is easy. Turkey > vultures have red heads while black vultures have black heads. Both species are > common within their ranges. Sharon is right on the mark, but I can't see red heads or black heads at 500+ feet. I lived and birdwatched in the South, and a less subtle difference is readily apparent in any soaring vulture. Looking from below, the primaries and secondaries of turkey vultures are a light tan colour, whereas the black vulture's dusting of light tan confines itself to the wingtips. Turkey vultures are MUCH more common down South, but the ranges are basically the same for both birds. I don't know if the turkey vulture is just more gregarious or if it is more plentiful. I would hazard to say both. Corey Geiger homxb!corey
andres@ut-sally.UUCP (Bennett Andres) (06/25/87)
In article <942@hoqax.UUCP> qaseb@hoqax.UUCP (BADIAN) writes: >People often refer to the turkey vulture as a turkey buzzard, or merely a >buzzard. Since I don't live down South where most of the black vultures live >I don't know if they are called buzzards too. Identification is easy. Turkey >vultures have red heads while black vultures have black heads. Both species are >common within their ranges. Black vultures have white heads,not black.Young turkey vultures also have white heads. ID points are the almost all-black wings of the black vulture (white only at the tips), its shorter wings and tail, and its flat profile in flight. My guess is that people who usually call these birds buzzards don't know or care that there are two kindnot
gp@picuxa.UUCP (Greg Pasquariello X1190) (06/26/87)
In article <399@homxb.UUCP>, corey@homxb.UUCP (C.GEIGER) writes: > In article <942@hoqax.UUCP>, qaseb@hoqax.UUCP (BADIAN) writes: > > > > The two species are the turkey vulture and the black vulture. > >Since I don't live down South where most of the black vultures live > > I don't know if they are called buzzards too. Identification is easy. Turkey > > vultures have red heads while black vultures have black heads. Both species are > > common within their ranges. > > Sharon is right on the mark, but I can't see red heads or black heads at > 500+ feet. I lived and birdwatched in the South, and a less subtle > difference is readily apparent in any soaring vulture. Looking from below, > the primaries and > secondaries of turkey vultures are a light tan colour, whereas the black > vulture's dusting of light tan confines itself to the wingtips. Turkey > vultures are MUCH more common down South, but the ranges are basically the > same for both birds. I don't know if the turkey vulture is just more > gregarious or if it is more plentiful. I would hazard to say both. > > Corey Geiger > homxb!corey Ok, but what if you can't see the secondaries due to distance, light, etc. The absolute *easiest* most reliable way to tell the birds apart, is shape and "jizz". Generally, the turkey vulture soars on long outstreched wings, held in a slight dihedral. The black vulture flaps much more than the turkey vulture and has shorter wings and tail. Because of the long wings and tail of the turkey vulture, it is a more bouyant bird than the black. With minimal practice, it is easy to identify either bird at quite some distance. As far as range is concerned, the black vulture is now spreading north and overlapping the range of the turkey vulture more each year. Currently, they are (in the east anyway), fairly common in southern NJ, can be found every year in northern NJ, and are known to nest in Orange County (southern) NY. Greg Pasquariello