No, there hasn't been a recent crime spree or zombie attack. The small township southwest of Cleveland has the distinction of being known for one thing and one thing alone: it is the home of strangely punctual buzzards.
Each year on March 15, as if on cue, large flocks of the ominous birds swoop into Hinckley to the delight of the assembled crowds of buzzard fans.
We're not making this up, we promise: Hinckley's annual "Buzzard Day" celebration began in 1957 and draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. Maybe it's the festival's unique theme, or maybe people just can't resist a good entrance.
Though everyone calls the Hinckley birds "buzzards," the winged creatures in question are technically turkey vultures. It's a long, convoluted story of convergent evolution involving Old World Vultures (which are raptors, related to eagles and actual buzzards -- which are hawks) versus New World Vultures (which are, scientifically speaking, creepy, bald-headed carrion-scavengers that tend to freak people out). Things are further complicated by the fact that the same bird is also known as "John Crow" or "carrion crow" in some places. But Cathartes aura is neither turkey nor buzzard nor crow (and we can only assume they're not all called "John"). It is, however, an intriguing bird.
Want to learn more about these roadkill-loving charmers? Allow us to share a few exciting facts we've learned:
- Turkey vultures have a wingspan of about six feet.
- They're one of the only North American birds with a sense of smell and have been used to locate natural gas leaks.
- Turkey vultures' heads are bald so that they don't get their feathers caked with blood and decomposing matter when they stick their heads into carcasses (yum!).
- They intentionally defecate on their own legs because the strong acids kill any bacteria picked up while standing around in rotting corpses.
- And finally, a vulture's primary means of defense is vomiting semi-digested carrion at predators.
So... who's up for Buzzard Day? Hinckley, Ohio, here we come!
Suggested Sites...
- The Turkey Vulture Society - would like to remind you that it is illegal to keep turkey vultures as pets.
- AvianWeb: Turkey Vultures - fascinating facts and pretty pictures.
- Andy Mather: "Hinckley Buzzards" - he was so inspired by the buzzards that he wrote a song about them.
- Cleveland Metroparks: Buzzard Sunday! - party with the buzzards at Buzzard Roost in the Hinckley Reservation.
- "Old Turkey Buzzard" - Jose Feliciano and David Letterman salute America's favorite scavenging raptor.
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