WHY DO BLACK VULTURES ROOST ON THE ROOFS OF HOUSES IN WINTER?

         When the weather finally gets cold in the Peach State black vultures seem to roost more often atop the roofs of apartment buildings and houses.  Typically, those folks that live in these dwellings do not greet the large birds with open arms.  Some even interpret the vultures as being harbingers of death.  While most people don’t believe that is the case most people want to know why the birds are roosting there.

BLACK VULTURES–PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Leverett

       One of the reasons why black vultures seen more abundant and prone to roost on houses in winter is black vultures are migratory birds.  Most of the migratory black vultures that spend the winter in the Southeast originate from the states of New York, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.  Once here they compete with our homegrown black vultures for food and roost sites.  With more vultures flying about, the chance of them roosting on a building jumps up.

BLACK VULTURES–PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Leverett

       Perhaps the main reason why the birds roost on dark roofs is the dark surface of the roofs help the birds regulate body temperature.  In winter, you often see the birds roosting with their bodies facing the rising sun.  As the sun rises, heat from the dark roofs radiates upward into their bodies.  In an effort to speed the process, some black vultures will even stretch their wings and allow the sun to shine on the undersides of their wings where feathers are sparse and blood vessels are located very close to the skin.  The quicker they can increase their body temperate faster they can take wing in search of food.