Can anyone identify this huge bird??

[insiderart]

Is the head grey? It could be a Black Vulture which will take birds and even small calves alive.

 

[redhen]

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Thats the problem! i cant tell! In the pic it dosent look red like a turkey vulture (to me..but i'm blind as a bat..).. But i had to zoom in alot to get this pic..so..its hard to tell..

It very well could be a black vulture..(if they have them in New England?)

 

[Happy Chooks]

I think it's a black vulture.

And vultures are protected.
The Black Vulture is a scavenger and feeds on carrion, but will also eat eggs or kill newborn animals. In areas populated by humans, it also feeds at garbage dumps. It finds its meals either by using its keen eyesight or by following other (New World) vultures, which possess a keen sense of smell. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.[2] It lays its eggs in caves or hollow trees or on the bare ground, and generally raises two chicks each year, which it feeds by regurgitation. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.[3] This vulture also appeared in Mayan codices.

 

[Mahonri]

In the pic, it looks like it's standing over something dead.

 

[redhen]

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Thanks for the info! And i wouldnt kill it or anything..I dont even have a gun... i understand they need to live also...but hes pushing my buttons..

 

[beefy]

its a buzzard.

 

[redhen]

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Yeah, thats what we though too! Most likely a rabbit...or groundhog. We have alot of wild rabbits around.

 

[redhen]

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*sigh* now isnt a buzzard a vulture? *i'm confused, as usual* or are they different?

 

[fowltemptress]

In Europe, buzzard means hawk. Not sure why it's different here . . . I've only heard vultures called buzzards when folks are complaining about them. I'm sorry your "friend" has seen fit to keep an eye on your chickens.

 

[mikesbigroo]

seen one of them grab a cat , i was rabbit hunting and was watching the bird circle several times, made a drive, grabed a cat, and surprise to both, the cat went into a frenzy scratching and fighting back , i guess the T-vulture kinda bit off more than it chewed sorta speak and dropped the cat at about 30ft, the cat hit the ground running, and probaly is still running, so i would think they would eat about anything they can get them claws on