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Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird
Turkey vultures, the most widely distributed and abundant scavenging birds of prey on the planet, are found from central Canada to the southern tip of Argentina, and nearly everywhere in between. In the United States we sometimes call them buzzards; in parts of Mexico the name is aura cabecirroja, in Uruguay jote cabeza colorada, and in Ecuador gallinazo aura. A huge bird, the turkey vulture is a familiar sight from culture to culture, in both hemispheres. But despite being ubiquitous and recognizable, the turkey vulture has never had a book of literary nonfiction devoted to it—until Vulture.
Floating on six-foot wings, turkey vultures use their keen senses of smell and sight to locate carrion. Unlike their cousin the black vulture, turkey vultures do not kill weak or dying animals; instead, they cleanse, purify, and renew the environment by clearing it of decaying carcasses, thus slowing the spread of such dangerous pathogens as anthrax, rabies, and botulism. The beauty, grace, and important role of these birds in the ecosystem notwithstanding, turkey vultures are maligned and underappreciated; they have been accused of spreading disease and killing livestock, neither of which has ever been substantiated.
Although turkey vultures are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes harming them a federal offense, the birds still face persecution. They’ve been killed because of their looks, their odor, and their presence in proximity to humans. Even the federal government occasionally sanctions “roost dispersals,” which involve the harassment and sometimes the murder of communally roosting vultures during the cold winter months.
Vulture follows a year in the life of a typical North American turkey vulture. By incorporating information from scientific papers and articles, as well as interviews with world-renowned raptor and vulture experts, author Katie Fallon examines all aspects of the bird’s natural history: breeding, incubating eggs, raising chicks, migrating, and roosting. After reading this book you will never look at a vulture in the same way again.
Floating on six-foot wings, turkey vultures use their keen senses of smell and sight to locate carrion. Unlike their cousin the black vulture, turkey vultures do not kill weak or dying animals; instead, they cleanse, purify, and renew the environment by clearing it of decaying carcasses, thus slowing the spread of such dangerous pathogens as anthrax, rabies, and botulism. The beauty, grace, and important role of these birds in the ecosystem notwithstanding, turkey vultures are maligned and underappreciated; they have been accused of spreading disease and killing livestock, neither of which has ever been substantiated.
Although turkey vultures are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes harming them a federal offense, the birds still face persecution. They’ve been killed because of their looks, their odor, and their presence in proximity to humans. Even the federal government occasionally sanctions “roost dispersals,” which involve the harassment and sometimes the murder of communally roosting vultures during the cold winter months.
Vulture follows a year in the life of a typical North American turkey vulture. By incorporating information from scientific papers and articles, as well as interviews with world-renowned raptor and vulture experts, author Katie Fallon examines all aspects of the bird’s natural history: breeding, incubating eggs, raising chicks, migrating, and roosting. After reading this book you will never look at a vulture in the same way again.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2017
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1048 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
September 26, 2020
When I see vultures, I am always amazed at the power of evolution. When there is a food source, in this case dead animals, some living creature will evolve enough to be able to eat it. Without reading the book, my understanding has always been that the birds evolved by acquiring more stomach acid to deal with the rotting meat.
"A turkey vulture is neither prey nor predator. It exists outside the typical food chain, beyond the kill-or-be-killed law of nature, although without death it would starve. . . . The vulture transforms . . . deaths into life. It wastes nothing. It does not kill. It is not a murderer, and it is not often murdered."
The Cherokee called them "peace eagles." Their Latin name, Cathartes aura, means "breezy cleanser." It is the world's most widely distributed scavenger bird. It is equally visible to everyone. Toxic lead pellets are a common source of dead vultures. (Can't we get the lead out, folks?)
Why the negative impression? Their naked heads? Their diet? Their reminder of impending death? The fact that they vomit at you when threatened?
The most heroic of all vultures appears in the Hindu Ramayana. Very few examples like that in pop culture, including children's cartoons.
Efforts to ban lead shot run into difficulties. Here in NH we try to couch it around saving loons. We need to pick an iconic animal to get people to take action. The National Rifle Association and other gun groups claim it is a slippery slope. Ban lead shot and the next thing you know FBI agents will take away your guns. The NRA does more damage in this country than just about any other group I know. If you live in another country, don't let them get a foothold.
California condors are cousins of the vulture. In 1987, it was officially extinct in the wild when the last 22 individuals were captured. An intensive captive-breeding program was launched. Now more than 400 are alive in the wild. More than 5 million dollars is spent annually to keep them alive.
We would have more species of vulture in North America if more of our megafauna had survived. Those birds needed big dead bodies to eat.
Condors need carcasses to survive. Hunters help them to survive by leaving offal on the ground. However, the lead shot was also a problem. Unfortunately, scientific evidence does not always convince people of a need.
The author describes a ranger discussing lead shot. A man argues with the ranger. "Birds eat lead paint too" he says. Then he walks out. It is necessary to change that man's mind, but how? The NRA is not helping.
I received this book free from the Goodreads giveaway program, and I enjoyed it immensely.
"A turkey vulture is neither prey nor predator. It exists outside the typical food chain, beyond the kill-or-be-killed law of nature, although without death it would starve. . . . The vulture transforms . . . deaths into life. It wastes nothing. It does not kill. It is not a murderer, and it is not often murdered."
The Cherokee called them "peace eagles." Their Latin name, Cathartes aura, means "breezy cleanser." It is the world's most widely distributed scavenger bird. It is equally visible to everyone. Toxic lead pellets are a common source of dead vultures. (Can't we get the lead out, folks?)
Why the negative impression? Their naked heads? Their diet? Their reminder of impending death? The fact that they vomit at you when threatened?
The most heroic of all vultures appears in the Hindu Ramayana. Very few examples like that in pop culture, including children's cartoons.
Efforts to ban lead shot run into difficulties. Here in NH we try to couch it around saving loons. We need to pick an iconic animal to get people to take action. The National Rifle Association and other gun groups claim it is a slippery slope. Ban lead shot and the next thing you know FBI agents will take away your guns. The NRA does more damage in this country than just about any other group I know. If you live in another country, don't let them get a foothold.
California condors are cousins of the vulture. In 1987, it was officially extinct in the wild when the last 22 individuals were captured. An intensive captive-breeding program was launched. Now more than 400 are alive in the wild. More than 5 million dollars is spent annually to keep them alive.
We would have more species of vulture in North America if more of our megafauna had survived. Those birds needed big dead bodies to eat.
Condors need carcasses to survive. Hunters help them to survive by leaving offal on the ground. However, the lead shot was also a problem. Unfortunately, scientific evidence does not always convince people of a need.
The author describes a ranger discussing lead shot. A man argues with the ranger. "Birds eat lead paint too" he says. Then he walks out. It is necessary to change that man's mind, but how? The NRA is not helping.
I received this book free from the Goodreads giveaway program, and I enjoyed it immensely.
November 25, 2020
I'm glad I read this one. It was very interesting, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
May 8, 2017
A mix of a fascinating natural history of a wrongly maligned bird along with a personal memoir.
August 29, 2017
Computer crashed, so now I'm kind of angry. Not taking it out on this book, but my pithy review will now be short and sweet.
Fallon clearly adores turkey vultures and her enthusiasm is infectious. To be sure, turkey vultures do a lot to try and keep us away so they can get about the business of consuming dead things. They are often found neck-deep in gore, poop on their own legs to keep cool and kill bacteria (urohidrosis), hiss rather than call or sing, and projectile vomit when threatened. Nice. Just as well, though, because what they do is immensely important to the health of their environments.
Two things I found interesting from this book. One is that Old World and New World vultures are examples of convergent evolution. Though they look quite similar, Old World vultures are more closely related to raptors like hawks and eagles, while New World vultures are more closely related to storks. The other is that while still abundant in the Americas, the greatest threat to vultures is lead poisoning via the ammunition used to kill the deer and other game on whose gut piles they feed. Simply using steel or copper ammunition would solve the problem, but the gun lobby sees any suggestion of changing their way of doing things as a threat. Grrrr...
A great book on these weird and fascinating creatures, with great resource listings in the back, including a list of vulture-related festivals around the United States.
Fallon clearly adores turkey vultures and her enthusiasm is infectious. To be sure, turkey vultures do a lot to try and keep us away so they can get about the business of consuming dead things. They are often found neck-deep in gore, poop on their own legs to keep cool and kill bacteria (urohidrosis), hiss rather than call or sing, and projectile vomit when threatened. Nice. Just as well, though, because what they do is immensely important to the health of their environments.
Two things I found interesting from this book. One is that Old World and New World vultures are examples of convergent evolution. Though they look quite similar, Old World vultures are more closely related to raptors like hawks and eagles, while New World vultures are more closely related to storks. The other is that while still abundant in the Americas, the greatest threat to vultures is lead poisoning via the ammunition used to kill the deer and other game on whose gut piles they feed. Simply using steel or copper ammunition would solve the problem, but the gun lobby sees any suggestion of changing their way of doing things as a threat. Grrrr...
A great book on these weird and fascinating creatures, with great resource listings in the back, including a list of vulture-related festivals around the United States.
November 16, 2020
In this engaging and well-written book, we learn facts about an "unloved bird" that range from humorous to sobering. The author loves vultures and wants others to share in her enthusiasm—and it’s hard not to have a renewed appreciation for them when closing this book. It would make a nice gift for anyone who loves the natural world or “quirky” nonfiction.
Vultures occupy an interesting place in the food web. They are birds of prey who do not kill, but rather scavenge the bodies of animals who have lost their lives to unrelated causes. They are truly nature’s sanitation workers. It is this association with death, as well as their dark, glowering looks, that has been the vultures’ downfall in relation to the human world.
Early America tried its best to exterminate vultures, along with just about every other wild species. Vultures do not spread disease, despite common belief then and occasionally today. In fact, their legendary stomach acids actually neutralize deadly toxins such as anthrax and botulism, removing these pathogens from the landscape. Nor do they kill farm animals, but will scavenge the remains of dead livestock—causing some ranchers to automatically claim guilt by association.
The main focus is the American turkey vulture, but a worldwide appreciation of carrion-eating birds is included here. In some parts of the world, they are revered, in others, they are hated and persecuted--but in both situations they are facing problems, and in the case of vultures in Africa and India, are facing extinction.
In Africa, they are killed en masse by poachers because their attraction to carcasses “snitches” to game wardens the poachers’ location; or they are poisoned by farmers who leave out poison-laced meat to kill off predators. In India, vultures fall victim to the toxic veterinary drugs that linger in the bodies of deceased farm animals.
In the United States, the hazards faced by vultures and other carrion-eating birds are a bit more esoteric, but just as serious. When hunters shoot animals with lead-based bullets, shrapnel is often present in the viscera left behind when the hunters butcher the animals. Even minute amounts of lead can poison scavenging birds. While turkey vultures seem to be able to handle a greater dose of lead than many other birds, they are not impervious to it, and lead is absolutely ruinous to birds like the bald eagle and critically endangered California condor.
The author supports and encourages hunting; she unfortunately trots out the familiar line that recreational hunting is needed to control the overpopulation of deer without acknowledging that our state wildlife departments have intentionally managed deer populations for decades to create a surplus of living targets for their hunting constituency. It’s essentially claiming the need to solve a problem that you yourself are actively helping to create.
To their credit, some smaller hunters’ organizations support barring the use of lead ammo for hunting and promote using copper- or steel-based bullets instead. However, the largest and most powerful groups, notably the NRA, have responded with an outcry that the book calls “shrill and predictable.” They have convinced legislators and their members that stopping lead usage would somehow lead to a confiscation of all guns. This preposterous line of thinking manifests itself before the author’s eyes when she witnesses an agitated, shouting man disrupt a presentation on California condors at the Grand Canyon.
The author thinks she could get through to NRA leadership by showing them footage of bald eagles (which appear on the group’s logo) slowly dying of lead poisoning at wildlife rehab centers, but I really don’t expect much empathy from an organization that has also thrown its assistance to inhumane industries that have nothing to do with guns or hunting, such as cockfighting and puppy mills.
At one point, the author also travels with wildlife rehabbers to rescue a horribly suffering vulture caught in a leghold trap. Given her passion about lead ammo, I was surprised she didn’t have more to say about the continued use of these archaic devices which are diabolical in their unselective cruelty. (Thankfully, the vulture in this particular incident was able to recover after vet treatment.)
VULTURE is a globe-trotting adventure filled with infectious enthusiasm for its subject matter. Readers will enjoy learning the surprising, bizarre, humorous, and sometimes sad story of this unique bird species. Hopefully many readers will also take to heart the vulture conservation advice offered at the end of the book, as well.
Vultures occupy an interesting place in the food web. They are birds of prey who do not kill, but rather scavenge the bodies of animals who have lost their lives to unrelated causes. They are truly nature’s sanitation workers. It is this association with death, as well as their dark, glowering looks, that has been the vultures’ downfall in relation to the human world.
Early America tried its best to exterminate vultures, along with just about every other wild species. Vultures do not spread disease, despite common belief then and occasionally today. In fact, their legendary stomach acids actually neutralize deadly toxins such as anthrax and botulism, removing these pathogens from the landscape. Nor do they kill farm animals, but will scavenge the remains of dead livestock—causing some ranchers to automatically claim guilt by association.
The main focus is the American turkey vulture, but a worldwide appreciation of carrion-eating birds is included here. In some parts of the world, they are revered, in others, they are hated and persecuted--but in both situations they are facing problems, and in the case of vultures in Africa and India, are facing extinction.
In Africa, they are killed en masse by poachers because their attraction to carcasses “snitches” to game wardens the poachers’ location; or they are poisoned by farmers who leave out poison-laced meat to kill off predators. In India, vultures fall victim to the toxic veterinary drugs that linger in the bodies of deceased farm animals.
In the United States, the hazards faced by vultures and other carrion-eating birds are a bit more esoteric, but just as serious. When hunters shoot animals with lead-based bullets, shrapnel is often present in the viscera left behind when the hunters butcher the animals. Even minute amounts of lead can poison scavenging birds. While turkey vultures seem to be able to handle a greater dose of lead than many other birds, they are not impervious to it, and lead is absolutely ruinous to birds like the bald eagle and critically endangered California condor.
The author supports and encourages hunting; she unfortunately trots out the familiar line that recreational hunting is needed to control the overpopulation of deer without acknowledging that our state wildlife departments have intentionally managed deer populations for decades to create a surplus of living targets for their hunting constituency. It’s essentially claiming the need to solve a problem that you yourself are actively helping to create.
To their credit, some smaller hunters’ organizations support barring the use of lead ammo for hunting and promote using copper- or steel-based bullets instead. However, the largest and most powerful groups, notably the NRA, have responded with an outcry that the book calls “shrill and predictable.” They have convinced legislators and their members that stopping lead usage would somehow lead to a confiscation of all guns. This preposterous line of thinking manifests itself before the author’s eyes when she witnesses an agitated, shouting man disrupt a presentation on California condors at the Grand Canyon.
The author thinks she could get through to NRA leadership by showing them footage of bald eagles (which appear on the group’s logo) slowly dying of lead poisoning at wildlife rehab centers, but I really don’t expect much empathy from an organization that has also thrown its assistance to inhumane industries that have nothing to do with guns or hunting, such as cockfighting and puppy mills.
At one point, the author also travels with wildlife rehabbers to rescue a horribly suffering vulture caught in a leghold trap. Given her passion about lead ammo, I was surprised she didn’t have more to say about the continued use of these archaic devices which are diabolical in their unselective cruelty. (Thankfully, the vulture in this particular incident was able to recover after vet treatment.)
VULTURE is a globe-trotting adventure filled with infectious enthusiasm for its subject matter. Readers will enjoy learning the surprising, bizarre, humorous, and sometimes sad story of this unique bird species. Hopefully many readers will also take to heart the vulture conservation advice offered at the end of the book, as well.
May 16, 2017
Vultures are fascinating birds who are poorly understood by most of us. Katie Fallon, cofounder of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, hopes to rectify that with her book, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird.
One of the first things a reader learns is something that should be obvious, but isn’t. Vultures are a critical element in the food chain, but in a way, they are also outside it. They are neither predator and are seldom prey. They, by and large, only eat carrion, the remains of already dead animals, so there is no predation in their consumption. They are not natural prey of animals in the wild and are only prey to humans because we are wildly misinformed.
In a grotesque example, the Washington Post published a story headlined “Virginia Vultures Turn Vicious, Dine on Pets, Terrorize Owners.” It included the false anecdote of a vulture carrying off a neighbor’s pet, except it would be impossible for a vulture to carry an animal in its talons. More importantly, they are not interested in live prey. They are sometimes implicated in the deaths of pets and livestock because they clean up the aftermath, which is kind of like blaming the hotel maid for the damage the partiers did the night before.
Vultures are important to human survival as they clean up the dead, preventing the spread of disease. In India and Africa, vulture populations are threatened and with reduced numbers have come increased problems. In Africa, they are deliberately targeted by poachers as vultures reveal the site of mass poaching kills.
Katie Fallon is more than a vulture enthusiast; she is a vulture evangelist and her book, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird is a work of bird evangelism. In many ways, that makes it an exciting book. It does, however, cause her to come across a bit unbalanced a couple of times. For example, when communities in their fear and ignorance ask the USDA to “do something” about the vultures roosting in town, one of the USDA tactics is to place effigies and dead vulture carcasses. This drives them away without shooting them because they don’t eat their own. Perhaps there is some instinct that suggests dead vulture carcasses indicate a danger. So it works and the townsfolk don’t end up organizing an illegal buzzard shoot.
Vultures roost as an extended family, so she analogizes a vulture coming to see those effigies to a person coming home and seeing an uncle hanging from the porch. Now I will quote her exactly, because this is too problematic to paraphrase, “But killing and hanging carcasses in trees—with the intent to intimidate and disperse certain populations—also has troubling historical complications, especially in the South. It seems, at least to me, that this practice should never be normalized, for any species.” Did she just compare a method to disperse vultures without killing them to lynching? A species protection tactic to terrorism? This is an anthropomorphic stretch and it’s an analogy that should never have been made. The list of things that can be compared to lynching is short and contains one item: lynching.
One of my favorite parts of the book were the short interstitial narratives that describe the life of a female vulture over the course of a year. They are poetic, but restrained for the most part to description. There is no projection of human emotion onto the vulture, just a narrative of what she sees and does. I was fascinated by the information about the vultures. I mean, wow! a vulture flew at 37,000 feet! It’s sad we know this because it was sucked into an engine, but that’s amazing.
Turkey buzzards, her favorite vulture, are particularly interesting because their population is thriving despite the challenges human activity throw in their way. This is in sharp contrast to vultures in other parts of the world. This is also in spite of the grotesque insistence on lead ammunition by hunters as it kills wildlife who consume the remains of dressed deer and other game. Hunters would be a boon to vultures if they only changed their ammunition. In a disgraceful example of seeking the bottom rung of humanity, the Trump Administration has repealed the ban on lead ammunition. This means more birds and other animals dying of lead poisoning.
Fallon does not just present the problems. Her finally chapter gives a list of actions people who care about birds and who care about vultures can take to make a difference. This makes her an evangelist, but that is what birds need.
I was provided a copy of Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird for review by the publisher through a drawing at LibraryThing.
★★★
http://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpres...
One of the first things a reader learns is something that should be obvious, but isn’t. Vultures are a critical element in the food chain, but in a way, they are also outside it. They are neither predator and are seldom prey. They, by and large, only eat carrion, the remains of already dead animals, so there is no predation in their consumption. They are not natural prey of animals in the wild and are only prey to humans because we are wildly misinformed.
In a grotesque example, the Washington Post published a story headlined “Virginia Vultures Turn Vicious, Dine on Pets, Terrorize Owners.” It included the false anecdote of a vulture carrying off a neighbor’s pet, except it would be impossible for a vulture to carry an animal in its talons. More importantly, they are not interested in live prey. They are sometimes implicated in the deaths of pets and livestock because they clean up the aftermath, which is kind of like blaming the hotel maid for the damage the partiers did the night before.
Vultures are important to human survival as they clean up the dead, preventing the spread of disease. In India and Africa, vulture populations are threatened and with reduced numbers have come increased problems. In Africa, they are deliberately targeted by poachers as vultures reveal the site of mass poaching kills.
Katie Fallon is more than a vulture enthusiast; she is a vulture evangelist and her book, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird is a work of bird evangelism. In many ways, that makes it an exciting book. It does, however, cause her to come across a bit unbalanced a couple of times. For example, when communities in their fear and ignorance ask the USDA to “do something” about the vultures roosting in town, one of the USDA tactics is to place effigies and dead vulture carcasses. This drives them away without shooting them because they don’t eat their own. Perhaps there is some instinct that suggests dead vulture carcasses indicate a danger. So it works and the townsfolk don’t end up organizing an illegal buzzard shoot.
Vultures roost as an extended family, so she analogizes a vulture coming to see those effigies to a person coming home and seeing an uncle hanging from the porch. Now I will quote her exactly, because this is too problematic to paraphrase, “But killing and hanging carcasses in trees—with the intent to intimidate and disperse certain populations—also has troubling historical complications, especially in the South. It seems, at least to me, that this practice should never be normalized, for any species.” Did she just compare a method to disperse vultures without killing them to lynching? A species protection tactic to terrorism? This is an anthropomorphic stretch and it’s an analogy that should never have been made. The list of things that can be compared to lynching is short and contains one item: lynching.
One of my favorite parts of the book were the short interstitial narratives that describe the life of a female vulture over the course of a year. They are poetic, but restrained for the most part to description. There is no projection of human emotion onto the vulture, just a narrative of what she sees and does. I was fascinated by the information about the vultures. I mean, wow! a vulture flew at 37,000 feet! It’s sad we know this because it was sucked into an engine, but that’s amazing.
Turkey buzzards, her favorite vulture, are particularly interesting because their population is thriving despite the challenges human activity throw in their way. This is in sharp contrast to vultures in other parts of the world. This is also in spite of the grotesque insistence on lead ammunition by hunters as it kills wildlife who consume the remains of dressed deer and other game. Hunters would be a boon to vultures if they only changed their ammunition. In a disgraceful example of seeking the bottom rung of humanity, the Trump Administration has repealed the ban on lead ammunition. This means more birds and other animals dying of lead poisoning.
Fallon does not just present the problems. Her finally chapter gives a list of actions people who care about birds and who care about vultures can take to make a difference. This makes her an evangelist, but that is what birds need.
I was provided a copy of Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird for review by the publisher through a drawing at LibraryThing.
★★★
http://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpres...
January 29, 2018
I've always really liked carrion birds. I think they're very interesting and are extremely beneficial to the environment, but have an undeserved bad reputation. In Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird Katie Fallon looks at vultures, focusing mainly on black vultures and turkey vultures, and their environmental roles. She touches on various myths histories of these birds. Fallon also discusses her work helping to rehabilitate vultures and her efforts to educate people about them.
This book reminded me a lot of another book that looks at another history of an underappreciated scavenger, Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History. Both books take a detailed look at their respective subjects and help clarify misconceptions about their behavior.
This book is very easy to pick up and understand and I'd recommend it to anyone who wanted to learn more about these fascinating creatures.
This book reminded me a lot of another book that looks at another history of an underappreciated scavenger, Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History. Both books take a detailed look at their respective subjects and help clarify misconceptions about their behavior.
This book is very easy to pick up and understand and I'd recommend it to anyone who wanted to learn more about these fascinating creatures.
March 17, 2018
When Fallon sticks to the science, this is pretty interesting. What killed it for me was the author constantly discussing her personal life (how pregnant she was at the time) amidst the facts. It's nice that she loves these animals, and her passion is appreciated; but I couldn't care less about the thoughts about her baby while she's watching a vulture mother. She also continually anthropomorphised these animals and then brought attention to the fact that she was doing it. Annoying. If you can wade through all the personal "stuff," this book does offer great information and will give you appreciation for these birds.
May 13, 2025
Keep meaning to make time for a properly formatted review of this, but before I forget, here are my main points:
I love turkey vultures so much before this that I already have them tattooed on me, so did not need to be sold
I like the idea of a book written by a rehabber instead of a scientist or journalist, different pov, frankly better than both in some regards
Didn't realize so much PA stuff would be in here which is cool. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary prominently featured.
Treats birds as individuals. Uses actual pronouns for them other than it. Really cares for them. Really sees them as more than parts of a group. Discusses them in both informative and enriching ways. These are the best parts of the book. Rarely am I not disappointed by how someone talks about birds.
Cool stories about ways the public have changed perception of vultures with neat festivals and other education campaigns. Crazy sometimes how easily swayed humans are to love or hate an entire species.
I liked the story of the vulture between each chapter. Didn't find it anthropomorphic like some others. Didn't see any human traits assigned to vultures (that they do not already share with us.)
Opened my mind about rescued, unreleasable wild type "ambassador animals" and how it can be done right (assessing temperament of a bird who cannot be released to make sure they can be cool with humans AND giving them the choice and freedom to participate (or not,) rather than some more suspicious practices I have seen that she also crits)
Goes way too hard trying to defend hunters in discussion of lead poisoning wiping vultures out, glossing over bloodsports long history of wiping out birds and retconning it into conservation (dear ol dad was a hunter and he's gee golly great.) Can't critique lead ammo causing extinction without critiquing the culture of hunting, ranching, and gun lobbies that have fought the lead ammo ban every way they can. Discusses how trappers also injured and kill vultures.
Some of the personal stuff was... idk, uninteresting? Maybe a little cringey? Probably a taste thing. We are all cringe in our own ways.
There are some very unfortunate racial comments by an oblivious white hippie. Brief, but clueless (compares vulture effigies to lynching) - this docked a star.
The work this author has done on behalf of vultures and other birds is to be commended and this book adds to that. Whoever edited it really should have caught the race comment as even if it weren't effed up, it added nothing useful.
More of a travelogue sorta story than a book of vulture facts.
I love turkey vultures so much before this that I already have them tattooed on me, so did not need to be sold
I like the idea of a book written by a rehabber instead of a scientist or journalist, different pov, frankly better than both in some regards
Didn't realize so much PA stuff would be in here which is cool. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary prominently featured.
Treats birds as individuals. Uses actual pronouns for them other than it. Really cares for them. Really sees them as more than parts of a group. Discusses them in both informative and enriching ways. These are the best parts of the book. Rarely am I not disappointed by how someone talks about birds.
Cool stories about ways the public have changed perception of vultures with neat festivals and other education campaigns. Crazy sometimes how easily swayed humans are to love or hate an entire species.
I liked the story of the vulture between each chapter. Didn't find it anthropomorphic like some others. Didn't see any human traits assigned to vultures (that they do not already share with us.)
Opened my mind about rescued, unreleasable wild type "ambassador animals" and how it can be done right (assessing temperament of a bird who cannot be released to make sure they can be cool with humans AND giving them the choice and freedom to participate (or not,) rather than some more suspicious practices I have seen that she also crits)
Goes way too hard trying to defend hunters in discussion of lead poisoning wiping vultures out, glossing over bloodsports long history of wiping out birds and retconning it into conservation (dear ol dad was a hunter and he's gee golly great.) Can't critique lead ammo causing extinction without critiquing the culture of hunting, ranching, and gun lobbies that have fought the lead ammo ban every way they can. Discusses how trappers also injured and kill vultures.
Some of the personal stuff was... idk, uninteresting? Maybe a little cringey? Probably a taste thing. We are all cringe in our own ways.
There are some very unfortunate racial comments by an oblivious white hippie. Brief, but clueless (compares vulture effigies to lynching) - this docked a star.
The work this author has done on behalf of vultures and other birds is to be commended and this book adds to that. Whoever edited it really should have caught the race comment as even if it weren't effed up, it added nothing useful.
More of a travelogue sorta story than a book of vulture facts.
July 22, 2017
Read this book, and you will look at vultures with both a new respect and more empathy. Katie Fallon writes an intimate portrait of a bird that is critical to our ecosystem yet often maligned and mistreated -- and even feared. I had started noticing vultures more even before I read this book. They are big; they are dramatic. They are so often easy to spot in the skies where I live.
But this book opened my eyes to the importance of vultures and also the risk that they face from cars, poison, lead bullets, and many other threats. We need vultures, and by taking a few simple steps, we could help ensure that they continue to cleanse our environment and protect us from disease.
But this book isn't just about vultures. It also is an intimate memoir that details Fallon's own exploration into the world of these birds and her connections to the vultures she has rescued, befriended, and loved.
But this book opened my eyes to the importance of vultures and also the risk that they face from cars, poison, lead bullets, and many other threats. We need vultures, and by taking a few simple steps, we could help ensure that they continue to cleanse our environment and protect us from disease.
But this book isn't just about vultures. It also is an intimate memoir that details Fallon's own exploration into the world of these birds and her connections to the vultures she has rescued, befriended, and loved.
November 3, 2020
I find vultures fascinating. So does the author, and one of the best things about the book is her enthusiasm. I liked the facts about how vultures live, but there was not a lot new to me; it's all pretty basic. The migration patterns were new to me, and interesting - most vultures seem to do the same thing each year, but that thing is different for different vultures at the same location. Some stay put all year, some migrate from the Northeast states to Virginia, or Florida, or Venezuela. Also new to me was the fact that lead ammunition is a leading cause of bird deaths, and that there are alternatives available but, for whatever reasons, gun owners insist on lead.
Much of the book was memoir by the author. I'm not sure why - it was written well enough - but her childhood, family life, and travels (even though they were for the purpose of seeing vultures) didn't interest me. I wanted more of the family lives and travels of vultures.
Much of the book was memoir by the author. I'm not sure why - it was written well enough - but her childhood, family life, and travels (even though they were for the purpose of seeing vultures) didn't interest me. I wanted more of the family lives and travels of vultures.
January 8, 2024
The author's passion definitely shines through. I regret to say that I didn't enjoy the prose written from vultures' perspectives, personal anecdotes of vulture encounters, or portraits of other expert researchers-- these added up to a lot of the content. The author and other researchers do deserve acclaim, but I was looking for a denser book stacked with empirical facts. Personally, I'm already sold on vultures' value and inherent worth.
That being said, I'm rounding my stars up a lot because I do think this is a book that will help somebody appreciate vultures for the first time. The title is appropriate to its content. I think the intent was to give readers a personal connection to vultures, and it probably succeeds at that.
Yay vultures ❤️🔥
That being said, I'm rounding my stars up a lot because I do think this is a book that will help somebody appreciate vultures for the first time. The title is appropriate to its content. I think the intent was to give readers a personal connection to vultures, and it probably succeeds at that.
Yay vultures ❤️🔥
February 7, 2020
In general, it would be accurate to say that the vulture is unloved by most people. They are thought of as gross for eating carrion. They are regularly made fun of as stupid or greedy in cartoons that make them out to be villains. They are hunted and killed, poisoned and reviled, and even something that is as basic as the goal of keeping them alive through avoiding that which harms them, like lead bullets, has become fiercely fought over because of the lack of trust that exists in the contemporary world concerning the implications of such regulations. That said, if the author and I have some different opinions about religion, given what she expresses in this book, I think that we can both agree that the vulture is an animal that is worth regarding well. The author is shrewd in recognizing the personality that different vultures have and in respecting and appreciating their obvious intellect. I think in general that a great many animals are more intelligent and observant than we give them credit for, and the author is clearly a partisan of the vulture and desires it to be thought of highly and respected by others as well.
This book is about 200 pages long and ten chapters long. The various chapters of the book are intercut with a story about a vulture broken up into smaller segments. The author begins with a discussion of the spokesbird, an introduction to the subject of the vulture. The author then turns to vulture culture and the way that vultures appear in our own culture, and even have a festival of their own in Ohio (1). The author then looks at the public lives of private birds and sees how vultures appear in public (2). This leads to a look at rockshelter and the ways that human beings and vultures have lived in the same areas for thousands of years, even to the point of sharing the same areas for shelter (3). After that comes a discussion of counting and looking for vultures in the arid Southwest (4) as well as a discussion of how vultures recuperate from injury in bird shelters (5). A chapter looks at a hill of supposedly sacred eagles (6) and another looks at the migratory patterns of many New World Vultures (7). There is a chapter on Virginia's efforts to help vultures (8) as well as the possible presence of vultures on Gettsyburg that the author muses about (9), closing with a discussion of a search for a particular vulture (10) and a discussion of how vultures can have people to speak for them in an epilogue as well as an afterword that examines what can be done for them, after which there are acknowledgements, a bibliography, and an index.
One of the joys of this book, if you happen to be someone who thinks fondly of vultures, is the way that there are aspects of vultures that are important in our culture and many others. The death of vultures due to bovine treatments in India, for example, has become a public health crisis, and a great many American vulture species have been harmed by the continued use of lead bullets, something the writer frequently harps on. The author talks about spending time in various bird sanctuaries and discussing the vultures they help take care of, as well as in spending a great deal of time talking about the rehabilitation efforts as well as the use of friendly and personable vultures who cannot be released into the wild after being injured as ambassadors for the vulture kind as a whole. One can see the respect and honor that the author has for such animals, and even an appreciation of their eating and breeding habits and the struggle that they face to find an honored and accepted place in a world that needs carrion animals but does not know what to do with them. And if the author has anything to say about that, more people will become more fond of these animals and treat them better also.
This book is about 200 pages long and ten chapters long. The various chapters of the book are intercut with a story about a vulture broken up into smaller segments. The author begins with a discussion of the spokesbird, an introduction to the subject of the vulture. The author then turns to vulture culture and the way that vultures appear in our own culture, and even have a festival of their own in Ohio (1). The author then looks at the public lives of private birds and sees how vultures appear in public (2). This leads to a look at rockshelter and the ways that human beings and vultures have lived in the same areas for thousands of years, even to the point of sharing the same areas for shelter (3). After that comes a discussion of counting and looking for vultures in the arid Southwest (4) as well as a discussion of how vultures recuperate from injury in bird shelters (5). A chapter looks at a hill of supposedly sacred eagles (6) and another looks at the migratory patterns of many New World Vultures (7). There is a chapter on Virginia's efforts to help vultures (8) as well as the possible presence of vultures on Gettsyburg that the author muses about (9), closing with a discussion of a search for a particular vulture (10) and a discussion of how vultures can have people to speak for them in an epilogue as well as an afterword that examines what can be done for them, after which there are acknowledgements, a bibliography, and an index.
One of the joys of this book, if you happen to be someone who thinks fondly of vultures, is the way that there are aspects of vultures that are important in our culture and many others. The death of vultures due to bovine treatments in India, for example, has become a public health crisis, and a great many American vulture species have been harmed by the continued use of lead bullets, something the writer frequently harps on. The author talks about spending time in various bird sanctuaries and discussing the vultures they help take care of, as well as in spending a great deal of time talking about the rehabilitation efforts as well as the use of friendly and personable vultures who cannot be released into the wild after being injured as ambassadors for the vulture kind as a whole. One can see the respect and honor that the author has for such animals, and even an appreciation of their eating and breeding habits and the struggle that they face to find an honored and accepted place in a world that needs carrion animals but does not know what to do with them. And if the author has anything to say about that, more people will become more fond of these animals and treat them better also.
July 21, 2023
Why read a book about vultures? Because vultures are necessary for a healthy ecosystem, and measuring their success as a species is one way to measure the health of the world around us. But also because: I like vultures. I've lived literally right next to two neighborhood turkey vulture roosts in Ohio and Virginia, and learned that they are not brooding, ominous, creepy beasts as often portrayed, but rather skittish, awkward, and frankly, a bit goofy-looking. Still, there is something majestic about them, and up close, their little bald faces are a mix of both curious and sweet.
So when I saw this book on the shelf, I was very curious. What I found is a blend of natural history, human history, species ethnography, ecological warning, and a smattering of autobiography. Each chapter was focused on a specific location but explored its own themes by blending facts and information with a narrative that's infused with passion, beauty, and a deep appreciation of what vultures have to offer the world and the human species. Fallon also introduces us to a world of scientific research that I was completely unaware of, not only in the tracking of vulture migration (which may span thousands of miles or virtually none at all, depending on factors we don't yet fully understand) but also investigation of the vulture's unique physiology and the implications it might hold for us in medicine and other areas.
Plus, there is Lew, a turkey vulture that was injured and can't be returned to the wild, but now does in-person education events with Fallon--possibly the first of his kind to be this type of ambassador, given how terrified most vultures are of people. Lew is brave, and cute, and I adore him.
Unexpectedly fascinating and delightful, I recommend this for anyone who likes to read about the natural world or learn about an underrated species. And trust me, you'll fall in love with Lew.
So when I saw this book on the shelf, I was very curious. What I found is a blend of natural history, human history, species ethnography, ecological warning, and a smattering of autobiography. Each chapter was focused on a specific location but explored its own themes by blending facts and information with a narrative that's infused with passion, beauty, and a deep appreciation of what vultures have to offer the world and the human species. Fallon also introduces us to a world of scientific research that I was completely unaware of, not only in the tracking of vulture migration (which may span thousands of miles or virtually none at all, depending on factors we don't yet fully understand) but also investigation of the vulture's unique physiology and the implications it might hold for us in medicine and other areas.
Plus, there is Lew, a turkey vulture that was injured and can't be returned to the wild, but now does in-person education events with Fallon--possibly the first of his kind to be this type of ambassador, given how terrified most vultures are of people. Lew is brave, and cute, and I adore him.
Unexpectedly fascinating and delightful, I recommend this for anyone who likes to read about the natural world or learn about an underrated species. And trust me, you'll fall in love with Lew.
September 20, 2024
I learned a lot and have a much deeper appreciation for vultures now. I am inspired enough that I may venture to Hawk Mountain some day to watch them fly. The author's style was narative, so it does not read like an encyclopedia entry. There was a lot of meat to chew on in the first six chapters, but some circling over dead issues in the last third of the book.
June 2, 2019
I was interested in vultures before I ever read this book, but now I have a newfound appreciation for these creatures. Vultures are truly fascinating and do not deserve their bad reputation. Katie Fallon made this book easy to read while also very informative.
March 11, 2021
!!! VULTURES !!!!
January 22, 2021
3.5 Stars.
I really enjoyed this book, it's a great mix of interesting facts and charming personal stories from the author. Her writing style is very conversational and makes for a fast, easy read. She touches on the plight of vultures worldwide, but the main focus here is the turkey vulture which is what drew me to the book in the first place. It's very difficult to find information on these misunderstood, underappreciated birds, especially presented in such a readable manner.
I really enjoyed this book, it's a great mix of interesting facts and charming personal stories from the author. Her writing style is very conversational and makes for a fast, easy read. She touches on the plight of vultures worldwide, but the main focus here is the turkey vulture which is what drew me to the book in the first place. It's very difficult to find information on these misunderstood, underappreciated birds, especially presented in such a readable manner.
June 4, 2017
If you love Turkey Vultures, you will definitely want this book. If you are even mildly interested in vultures, or are interested in vultures or birds in general, you will want this book. Although Turkey Vultures are the star of this book, Black Vultures, and Old World Vultures also have their own chapters. As a full disclosure I must say that I came to this book already head over heels in love with vultures, especial Turkey Vultures. As a raptor handler for the Draper Museum Raptor Experience, Suli, our Turkey Vulture, is one of the birds I handle the most, and it didn't take me long to discover how much I adore the species. I originally debated whether to purchase this book, as I have done a lot of reading and research on vultures and was concerned that it would be too repetitive. I am so delighted that I made the decision to purchased the book. Katie Fallon’s love for Turkey Vultures is expressed beautifully, and mirrors my own feelings about the TVs. If you have not yet fallen in love with these wonderful birds, it is likely that she will convince you that they are a worthy bird to love. Introducing each chapter with a short paragraph, written to resemble a Turkey Vulture's biography, is beautiful in some cases, and always a fun way to begin the chapter's topic. Beware that although many of the passages are heartwarming, others are very sad. The information contained within the book not only deals with interesting facts about these birds, but also the tragedy of what can happen to them. The book was so beautifully written, that it kept my attention from the beginning to the last page, including pages that covered facts that I am already very familiar with. And yes, if you are wondering, I also gained new knowledge. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves birds, even if vultures are not a favorite. Reading this book, may give you a whole new perspective on a bird that so many people misunderstand.
September 8, 2019
Received this book as a gift from dear ones who obviously get me. Give me a memoir mixed in with a historical and natural narrative that helps us better understand the vulture? Ummm, yep!
Her attention to different cultural and mythological understandings of the bird help to broaden the prevalent U.S. cultural portrayal of the much maligned carrion bird as an evil force (at worst) or a no-goodnik (at best). And her stories of the work that her conservation and rehabilitation center does with injured vultures made me far more aware of the current environmental challenges they face - and made me fall in love with Lew, one of the vultures they cared for, among others.
Also interspersed between chapters is a poetically imagined year in the life of one female vulture - nesting, raising chicks, floating above her summer home in Canada, before then a massive migration to the south. "She knew the seasons in her bones. She felt the length of days, the sun's movements, the changes in the wind. Knew the smells of mud, of gasoline, fish, rot. Knew palms, aspens, oceans, deserts. All were reborn in her, all connected. She held the whole world in her eyes."
Loved this. And was delighted to find in the Resources section that my little town/area holds a Turkey Vulture Festival each year! Consider me RSVP'ed for 2020, friends! I am definitely there.
Her attention to different cultural and mythological understandings of the bird help to broaden the prevalent U.S. cultural portrayal of the much maligned carrion bird as an evil force (at worst) or a no-goodnik (at best). And her stories of the work that her conservation and rehabilitation center does with injured vultures made me far more aware of the current environmental challenges they face - and made me fall in love with Lew, one of the vultures they cared for, among others.
Also interspersed between chapters is a poetically imagined year in the life of one female vulture - nesting, raising chicks, floating above her summer home in Canada, before then a massive migration to the south. "She knew the seasons in her bones. She felt the length of days, the sun's movements, the changes in the wind. Knew the smells of mud, of gasoline, fish, rot. Knew palms, aspens, oceans, deserts. All were reborn in her, all connected. She held the whole world in her eyes."
Loved this. And was delighted to find in the Resources section that my little town/area holds a Turkey Vulture Festival each year! Consider me RSVP'ed for 2020, friends! I am definitely there.
December 14, 2018
You may think you don’t like vultures but this book will have you looking at them with affection and respect. The author does an excellent job dispelling myths, letting us inside the lives of vultures and vulture rescue teams.
I heard the author speak (yes, she brought Lew the vulture with her) and found it fascinating and entertaining. Her book goes in more depth and left me worried about the future of these birds who are so critical to the ecosystem.
I will never again look at the sky, hoping for a hawk or eagle, only to say, “Oh, it’s JUST a turkey vulture.”
I heard the author speak (yes, she brought Lew the vulture with her) and found it fascinating and entertaining. Her book goes in more depth and left me worried about the future of these birds who are so critical to the ecosystem.
I will never again look at the sky, hoping for a hawk or eagle, only to say, “Oh, it’s JUST a turkey vulture.”
August 6, 2018
If I were rating this book on the writing, it would get two or three stars. But the information contained within deserves five stars. The delivery was disappointingly anecdotal for a non-fiction book about vultures, threats to their survival, and conservation efforts, but I understand why. Overall, I am glad this book has been written and will recommend it to my non-scientific friends that are interested in conservation.
July 7, 2019
So. Let’s say I describe a bird that eats almost exclusively dead things, has a bizarre beak and creepy eyes, lacks a voice box and therefore emits a kind of low menacing hiss, defecates and urinates on its own legs, and projectile vomits in the direction of would be predators. Give me the address of the pet shop where I can pick it up right?
If you’re Katie Fallon the author of “Vultures”, that is perhaps exactly what you would say. Fallon writes to demystify a creature that has been in her opinion, maligned and demonized. Truth be told, she makes a rather compelling case for loving these somewhat disgusting creatures. She rightly points out that without vultures to eat carrion, toxins such as botulism and other diseases would spread and carcasses would contaminate the surrounding wildlife (she also points to some specious studies that ‘vulture soup’ made of vulture extract has been proven to cure cancer in lab rats). So yay for vultures right?
Sure. After reading this book I do have a better appreciation for them and their role in the ecosystem. They should by all means be protected like any other endangered species. However….
Fallon goes, in my opinion, well beyond a simple desire for conservation. She frequently anthropomorphizes the birds she studies such as wondering what they are thinking and putting words in their mouths. Strange as this is, she also wants you to know that she really, really, REALLY loves vultures. Maybe even more than she loves you. Let her tell you herself:
“Between 1990 and 1998 there were 22,000 bird-aircraft collisions, costing $400 million annually in aircraft repairs. Further, an estimated 350 people have been killed in bird-aircraft collisions worldwide. The study does not calculate the monetary value of the loss of the birds, of course, and while any loss of human life is tragic, I assume that the birds involved in these collisions are killed nearly 100 percent of the time.”
I’m sorry but the sentence “X number of people have been killed in bird-aircraft collisions worldwide” should never be qualified by a sentence with equal or greater concern for the birds. I don’t wish any harm to these birds, I abhor hunting got example, But bird deaths and human deaths are not remotely the same.
There are other troubling passages here that seem to go beyond a simple concern for these birds and into well…again Ms. Fallon, this time on one town’s admittedly heinous practice hanging vulture carcasses from trees to deter others from nesting there:
“Seeing Uncle Bob’s body hanging on the porch. Who wouldn’t be deterred? But killing and hanging carcasses in trees with the intent to intimidate and disperse certain populations also has troubling historical complications, especially in the South. It seems, at least to me, that this practice should never be normalized, for any species.”
Ummm….is she drawing some moral or historical equivalency between the lynching of Black Americans and hanging dead birds?
Yes I kind of sort of see what she wants to say here but it’s at best clumsy and insensitive. At worst it’s offensive to conflate these two things. There are no social or historical connotations to hanging birds from trees, as distasteful as it is. Lynchings on the other hand are part of the very fabric of America’s troubled racial history.
She goes on to later reference vulture migration patterns:
“Like the rebel forces of the 1860s, in the past black vultures couldn’t thrive north of the Mason-Dixon line. While I do not want to compare flocks of black vultures to invading battalions, their range has expanded ever northward.”
Again, vultures are in no way equivalent to armies or the Civil War. While here at least she tries to clarify that she doesn’t want to make a direct comparison here one wishes she would have done the same for her lynching example.
To summarize, vultures are quite fascinating. I enjoyed Fallon’s research into these creatures and learned quite a bit. Her proselytizing was a bit over the top and at times disturbing. However if you can get past that, there is a lot to like and learn here.
May 10, 2018
Ok, I had a very love/hate relationship with this book. But a the end of the day, I love vultures and there was a lot of fascinating vulture info in this book and a few other good tidbits too. Vulture info from different cultures and throughout history. Info on vulture festivals and different vulture species and vultures in art. I mean it's beautiful. Oh! And giant prehistoric vultures that had 25 foot wingspans!
There was also a great story about a place called Meadowcroft Rockshelter. In this location one can find the perfect campsite. Humans throughout history seem to have agreed on this. At first, at a quick glance you could find evidence of a modern campfire. Beer cans. Syringes. Fire pit. But as archaeologists excavated, they uncovered older and older fire pits. The lowest campfire pit was 16,000 years old! Prior to this, we only had evidence of humans in North America from no more than 12,000 years ago.
The only negative is the writing sometimes. When the author is talking science she is on point. But when she starts anthropomorphizing it's almost unbearable. And it's repetitive. She narrates what she thinks the birds are thinking while she's working on them. And there's some exaggeration when it comes to the importance of vultures for certain things. And she extrapolates a lot. Here's a great example. She's in India. At a temple that has previously had vultures considered sacred. But the vultures are gone. In this region, research has shown that a drug used to treat cows may be the culprit. So, as she's sitting cross-legged, breathing deeply and feeling at peace in what must be a holy place (all her words), she looks up and is reminded of the absence of the sacred vultures. Then she says "...can a pharmaceutical company destroy even holy creatures? Had science finally killed God? The priests may have been correct in their belief that the vultures' disappearance presaged troubled times to come; in recent years India has had its share of tragedy, notably the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 Mumbai attacks." I suppose... props for being open minded? I dunno. I suppose there's nothing here claiming that this is a scientific book, but she does include a fair amount of research and talks about the value of peer reviewed science. Like a lot. So it seems crazy silly to me that she would also talk about vultures being omens for bad things because of a very loose correlation between bad things happening in India and the birds being poisoned. I mean really?
Anyway, periodically there'd be things like this, but most of the book is about vultures and it is wonderful.
PS-Here's a list of vulture festivals:
1. Return of the Buzzards (Hinckley, Ohio)
2. Welcome Back, Buzzards and Bye Bye, Buzzards (Superior, Arizona)
3. East Coast Vulture Festival (New Jersey)
4. Coralville Lake Turkey Vulture Festival (Iowa)
5. Vulture Fest (Makanda, Illinois)
6. Kern Valley Autumn Nature and Vulture Festival (Weldon, California)
There was also a great story about a place called Meadowcroft Rockshelter. In this location one can find the perfect campsite. Humans throughout history seem to have agreed on this. At first, at a quick glance you could find evidence of a modern campfire. Beer cans. Syringes. Fire pit. But as archaeologists excavated, they uncovered older and older fire pits. The lowest campfire pit was 16,000 years old! Prior to this, we only had evidence of humans in North America from no more than 12,000 years ago.
The only negative is the writing sometimes. When the author is talking science she is on point. But when she starts anthropomorphizing it's almost unbearable. And it's repetitive. She narrates what she thinks the birds are thinking while she's working on them. And there's some exaggeration when it comes to the importance of vultures for certain things. And she extrapolates a lot. Here's a great example. She's in India. At a temple that has previously had vultures considered sacred. But the vultures are gone. In this region, research has shown that a drug used to treat cows may be the culprit. So, as she's sitting cross-legged, breathing deeply and feeling at peace in what must be a holy place (all her words), she looks up and is reminded of the absence of the sacred vultures. Then she says "...can a pharmaceutical company destroy even holy creatures? Had science finally killed God? The priests may have been correct in their belief that the vultures' disappearance presaged troubled times to come; in recent years India has had its share of tragedy, notably the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 Mumbai attacks." I suppose... props for being open minded? I dunno. I suppose there's nothing here claiming that this is a scientific book, but she does include a fair amount of research and talks about the value of peer reviewed science. Like a lot. So it seems crazy silly to me that she would also talk about vultures being omens for bad things because of a very loose correlation between bad things happening in India and the birds being poisoned. I mean really?
Anyway, periodically there'd be things like this, but most of the book is about vultures and it is wonderful.
PS-Here's a list of vulture festivals:
1. Return of the Buzzards (Hinckley, Ohio)
2. Welcome Back, Buzzards and Bye Bye, Buzzards (Superior, Arizona)
3. East Coast Vulture Festival (New Jersey)
4. Coralville Lake Turkey Vulture Festival (Iowa)
5. Vulture Fest (Makanda, Illinois)
6. Kern Valley Autumn Nature and Vulture Festival (Weldon, California)
May 16, 2017
This isn't so much a book as it is a loose conglomeration of marginally organized facebook rants. I got it as part of librarything's early review program- if I had just picked it up, I woulda given up during the part where the author, who has no understanding of archeology, tried to justify a theory that human culture wouldn't exist were it not for vultures. As is, I pushed through that, and it DID get slightly better, btu then things would go downhill for long segments.
I picked the book up because I LIKE vultures, and I wanted to learn something about them. I did lear n a few things, but mostly I got scolded for not liking vultures. There's a lot of scolding in here.
There's a long scene in which the author is driving along a road next to a windfarm, and she sets her cruise control so that she can give all her attention to watching raptors not get hit by turbine blades. She describes herself shreiking aloud in her empty car when there are near misses. She does not describe the near misses that no doubt occurred between her car and various woodchucks/squirrels/etc, because she didn't notice those- she was busy watching the vultures. She also doesn't bother mentioning the statistics for how many vultures are hit by cars while dining on roadkill.
That passage stuck in my mind most, but there's a lot of that sort of thing- very focused rants that last far too long and which are clearly responses to -something- but the something wasn't printed in the book.
The strongest parts of the book are when she introducing various scientists and their work- these people are enthusiastic, our author is enthusiastic, and while we are being told about the science, we get to actually learn things about the vultures that this book purports to be about.
I picked the book up because I LIKE vultures, and I wanted to learn something about them. I did lear n a few things, but mostly I got scolded for not liking vultures. There's a lot of scolding in here.
There's a long scene in which the author is driving along a road next to a windfarm, and she sets her cruise control so that she can give all her attention to watching raptors not get hit by turbine blades. She describes herself shreiking aloud in her empty car when there are near misses. She does not describe the near misses that no doubt occurred between her car and various woodchucks/squirrels/etc, because she didn't notice those- she was busy watching the vultures. She also doesn't bother mentioning the statistics for how many vultures are hit by cars while dining on roadkill.
That passage stuck in my mind most, but there's a lot of that sort of thing- very focused rants that last far too long and which are clearly responses to -something- but the something wasn't printed in the book.
The strongest parts of the book are when she introducing various scientists and their work- these people are enthusiastic, our author is enthusiastic, and while we are being told about the science, we get to actually learn things about the vultures that this book purports to be about.
January 28, 2021
A study some years back discovered that things that appear cute basically hijack our brains, stimulating rapid neural activity that shuts down thought and floods the "care centers" so to speak. On the other end of the spectrum are those animals from which we tend to recoil, which we regard as repulsive.
The vulture has a bad rap in the West, as a mostly sedentary, verminous scavenger, beetle-browed and looking like a surly old man. And yet the vulture is not only not a dirty bird or spreader of diseases, but is actually essential for the removal of disease-carrying pathogens that could get out of control if we were to stop the vultures from eating carrion.
"Vulture" by Kate Fallon is a solid pop science book about the vulture, its reception among different cultures throughout the world and history, as well as its mating and migratory habits. All sorts of tidbits, both fascinating and gross, are scattered throughout the book. To cite a couple: the vulture's primary form of defense is to vomit in terror (!) and the Egyptians believed all vultures were female and that they became impregnated by the winds upon which they beat their wings.
My visceral reaction to the vulture is not likely to change the next time I happen upon one (hopefully not while wandering in the desert), but I came away from the book with more than grudging respect for the buzzard that I previously found solely repulsive. Information about conservation and advocacy is included in the book, which is important despite the bird's non-threatened status, as hunters' use of lead-based ammunition and certain livestock antibiotics are still a constant threat to the vulture in its natural habitat. Recommended. With photos.
The vulture has a bad rap in the West, as a mostly sedentary, verminous scavenger, beetle-browed and looking like a surly old man. And yet the vulture is not only not a dirty bird or spreader of diseases, but is actually essential for the removal of disease-carrying pathogens that could get out of control if we were to stop the vultures from eating carrion.
"Vulture" by Kate Fallon is a solid pop science book about the vulture, its reception among different cultures throughout the world and history, as well as its mating and migratory habits. All sorts of tidbits, both fascinating and gross, are scattered throughout the book. To cite a couple: the vulture's primary form of defense is to vomit in terror (!) and the Egyptians believed all vultures were female and that they became impregnated by the winds upon which they beat their wings.
My visceral reaction to the vulture is not likely to change the next time I happen upon one (hopefully not while wandering in the desert), but I came away from the book with more than grudging respect for the buzzard that I previously found solely repulsive. Information about conservation and advocacy is included in the book, which is important despite the bird's non-threatened status, as hunters' use of lead-based ammunition and certain livestock antibiotics are still a constant threat to the vulture in its natural habitat. Recommended. With photos.
July 9, 2018
I have learned a lot about vultures, cultures and history from the perspective of carrion eating birds through this amazing book. Vulture gives a great coverage to not just vultures but lot of interconnected cultural aspects ranging from prehistoric events to more recent happenings, including a good coverage of times during the Gettysburg battle of the American civil war. Old-time Egypt, pre-historic north america, India, South America all feature prominent stories of their own so this is a book with a global reach, like the birds themselves that migrate thousands of miles.
I bought this way back in mid-2017 when I met the author at a bird rescue and education even. However, since then I also ended up getting Cerulean blues - also by the same author but written earlier, so I stopped this book and switched over to Cerulean blues to keep chronological consistency. It was a good decision, as these books both also dip into changes happening in the personal life of the author and it is a privilege to walk alongside and hear the story. Having finished Cerulean blues in Dec, I then picked up this book again earlier this summer and read at a regular pace to enjoy every little story and detail! I am also very lucky to be volunteering at the ACCA - a non-profit for bird rescue, rehabilitation and research, founded and run by the author.
I bought this way back in mid-2017 when I met the author at a bird rescue and education even. However, since then I also ended up getting Cerulean blues - also by the same author but written earlier, so I stopped this book and switched over to Cerulean blues to keep chronological consistency. It was a good decision, as these books both also dip into changes happening in the personal life of the author and it is a privilege to walk alongside and hear the story. Having finished Cerulean blues in Dec, I then picked up this book again earlier this summer and read at a regular pace to enjoy every little story and detail! I am also very lucky to be volunteering at the ACCA - a non-profit for bird rescue, rehabilitation and research, founded and run by the author.
December 8, 2018
There was good information in this book about vultures. The author helpfully throws in biological facts, natural history, some mythology, wildlife rehabilitation, vulture culture ... some really good, useful, and fun information. I didn't mind the tone of these sections - she was conversational and interesting to read.
If she did lose me through this book, it was for one of two reasons: either she was going into an odd amount of personal detail - her husband's current hair situation, how she was wearing her hair, how pregnant she was, a Turkey Vulture's heartbeat beating alongside that of her unborn child, etc. - or she was anthropomorphizing to an inappropriate degree, at least it seemed inappropriate from my point of view.
Since the personal detail and anthropomorphization were both scattered throughout the book, I carried some annoyance with me through reading this. However, it did have good information about some species that are, at best, vastly underappreciated in the modern age. This book is a toast to vultures and the value they bring to our natural world.
If she did lose me through this book, it was for one of two reasons: either she was going into an odd amount of personal detail - her husband's current hair situation, how she was wearing her hair, how pregnant she was, a Turkey Vulture's heartbeat beating alongside that of her unborn child, etc. - or she was anthropomorphizing to an inappropriate degree, at least it seemed inappropriate from my point of view.
Since the personal detail and anthropomorphization were both scattered throughout the book, I carried some annoyance with me through reading this. However, it did have good information about some species that are, at best, vastly underappreciated in the modern age. This book is a toast to vultures and the value they bring to our natural world.
July 23, 2018
"May your roosts be warm, your thermals strong, and your carrion only slightly spoiled."
I loved this book! I saw Katie Fallon give a talk almost 2 years ago, with Borris the Turkey Vulture, and I can't believe it took me this long to read her book. She is an engaging speaker and talented writer whose passion for vultures is contagious. Katie understands the connection between humans and vultures from and ecological perspective, but also from a deeply spiritual perspective which she conveys beautifully in this balanced mix of personal stories, scientific information, and cultural lore. Bird nerds and scavenger-appreciators everywhere will enjoy this book, but I also hope her message reaches another audience- hunters who could make a simple change in their hunting practices to save the lives of raptors!
I loved this book! I saw Katie Fallon give a talk almost 2 years ago, with Borris the Turkey Vulture, and I can't believe it took me this long to read her book. She is an engaging speaker and talented writer whose passion for vultures is contagious. Katie understands the connection between humans and vultures from and ecological perspective, but also from a deeply spiritual perspective which she conveys beautifully in this balanced mix of personal stories, scientific information, and cultural lore. Bird nerds and scavenger-appreciators everywhere will enjoy this book, but I also hope her message reaches another audience- hunters who could make a simple change in their hunting practices to save the lives of raptors!
June 10, 2022
What an interesting book about vultures. The narrative is loose, it follows the author and her family around the country a bit as they view vultures in different locations. Interspersed is commentary on the plight of vultures in other countries, forces attempting to protect them, and those that still persecute them. There is a life history of one vulture family starting off each chapter. If you're into birds, give this a shot. If you [i]don't[/i] like vultures, try reading this, you may learn some things. Spoiler: No turkey vulture has ever flown off with a pet, their feet aren't strong enough to carry something.
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