They live off of the dead, hiss at the living, feed vomit to their young and lurk in dark caves. Vultures are quite grotesque by anyone’s standards, thus their frequent association with all things Halloween. Yet for all their spookiness, few of us know much about them. This is especially true of the black vulture.

Connecticut has two kinds of vultures: the turkey and the black. Each of these birds were once exclusively southern species. While the turkey vulture has been here for many decades, the black vulture is a newcomer. Black vultures first appeared in the 1950s as vagrant stragglers along the coastal Northeast. Turkey vultures, on the other hand, have been reported as far back as the 1930s.

Turkey vultures pushed into Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the late 1930s. A decade later, a few appeared in southern New York and Connecticut. Soon, however, the sight of these enormous birds became more common until about 30 years back when they became fully established. Today, turkey vultures can be found breeding even in Canada.

Black vultures started to get established in the late 1980s, when sightings occurred consistently across the state. In the 1990s the population really expanded, indicating a breeding status, but it wasn’t until April 6, 2002, that the first nest was confirmed in Kent, Connecticut. The confirmation had eluded the ornithological community for a decade.

It took some time to confirm because black vultures are secretive when it comes to nesting. They often nest in inaccessible locations; the nest in Kent, for example, was found hidden in a cave. Typically, they seek escarpments, caves or dense impenetrable woodlands. Sometimes though, the location of the nest is given away by the chick’s frightening vocalizations. They have a dreadful moaning call, which can make the bravest soul freeze in terror.

Besides the few isolated cases of nuisance and depredation, the black vulture is generally an asset to man and his endeavors. In fact, their feeding upon carrion and garbage has helped keep our communities cleaner. Recently, industry has employed the turkey vulture’s keen sense of smell to locate gas leaks along vast pipelines. Unfortunately, vultures were persecuted for decades out of fear and ignorance.

Perhaps now we can appreciate this magnificent bird while we also acknowledge its scary iconic image. I am no less inspired by the sight of vultures soaring high over the countryside than when I see a hawk or eagle. I am impressed by the tremendous wing span, effortless flight and ability to find food by scent. By riding thermals, vultures can travel several miles without expending much energy.

I know of a woman living in Florida that is so fascinated by black vultures that she actually feeds them meat scraps. Much to the chagrin of her polite neighbors, dozens of vultures descend upon her house every afternoon in search of a snack. Yet on Halloween she is hailed a hero, as the vultures compliment her spooky decorations.

Vultures may have appeared in the Northeast for many reasons, but their range expansion into Connecticut does follow a pattern set by many other species that have moved in from the south in part because of global warming.

Although they are a Halloween bird, there is nothing to fear about black vultures except the climate change that may have facilitated their arrival and the persecution they have endured.

Robert Tougias is a Colchester based birding author. He is available for presentations. You can email him your birding questions at rtougias@snet.net