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Observations on Migratory Turkey Vultures and Lesser Yellow-Headed

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Observations on Migratory Turkey Vultures and Lesser Yellow-Headed 372 Short Communications [Auk, Vol. 99 JAMES,F. C. 1970. Geographicsize variation in birds MEUtqIER,K. 1951. Korrelation und umkonstruktion and its relationship to climate. Ecology 51: in den gr6ssbenbeziehungenZwischen vogeltiff- 365-390. gel und vogelk6rper.Biol. Gen. 19: 403-443. LowE, P. R. 1934. On the evidence for the existence M/3LLE•HOFF,K. 1885. Die grosseder flugfluchen. of two speciesof steamerduck (Tachyeres),and Pflueger'sArch. Ges. Physiol.35: 407-453. primary and secondaryflightlessness in birds. MURPHY, g. C. 1936. Oceanic birds of South Amer- Ibis 4: 467495. ica, vol. 2. New York, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. MAGtqAtq,M. A. 1912. Modifications organiques PooLE,E. L. 1938. Weights and wing areasin North cons•ctives chez les oiseaux • l'absence de vol. American birds. Auk 55: 511-517. Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 18: 524-530. RAIKOW, g. J. 1973. Locomotor mechanisms in --. 1913. Rapport de la surfacealaire avec le North American ducks. Wilson Bull. 85: 295-307. poids du corpschez les oiseaux.Bull. Mus. Hist. SAWLE,D. B. O. 1957. Adaptive evolution in the Nat. Paris 19: 45-52. avian wing. Evolution 11: 212-224. --. 1922. Les caracteristiquesdes oiseaux sui- WELL,R, M. W. 1976. Ecology and behaviour of vant le mode de vol. Ann. Sci. Nat. (Ser. 10) 5: steamer ducks. Wildfowl 27: 45-53. 125-334. Received24 August1981, accepted 4 November1981. McNAI•, B. K. 1971. On the ecologicalsignificance of Bergmann'srule. Ecology52: 845-854. Observationson migratoryTurkey Vultures and LesserYellow-headed Vultures in northern Colombia FRIEDEMANN KOESTER1 Institutode Investigaciones Marinas "Punta de Betin," Santa Marta, Colombia,South America TurkeyVultures (Cathartes aura) breed from south- somebirds of the flockhad conspicuousorange-yel- ern Canadato Tierra del Fuego,while LesserYellow- lowish heads and dirty-whitish wing patches that headed Vultures (Cathartes burrovianus) occur from identified them as Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures. M•xico through Central America to northern Argen- The resultspresented here are basedmainly on ob- tina and Uruguay (Meyer de Schauensee1966). It has servationsand line-transect counts made along the long been known that Turkey Vultures breeding in Caribbean coastbetween the ports of Barranquilla the northern parts of their rangeare migratory, and and SantaMarta in northern Colombia.They give a data are available on their arrival at or departure first accountof the magnitudeand ecologicalaspects from their breeding groundsin spring or fall (Bent of vulture migrations in South America. 1937). Likewise, parts of their migration routesand Countsof vultureswere madeby driving alongthe winter ranges in Central America are well docu- Troncal del Caribe highway between Puente de la mented (Chapman1933, Wetmore 1965, Smith 1980). Barra, near the town of Cienaga, and Los Cocos,near Migrating TurkeyVultures were observedin north- the port of Barranquillaon the MagdalenaRiver. This western Colombiaby Dugand (1947),Haffer (1959), area includes most of Isla de Salamanca National and Olivares (1959), but there are no data on their Park. A detailed descriptionof this region, including abundanceor ecology. Becauseseasonal changes in a portrayalof its flora and fauna, is found in Franky their abundance in Panam• have been observed, it and Rodriguez (1976). Visibility along most of the is believed that the northern Lesser Yellow-headed highway was not impaired by vegetation, so nearly Vultures are also migratory (Ridgley 1976). all roosting or soaring vultures could be counted A tight flockof at least150 soaring Turkey Vultures within a broadcorridor of up to more than 500m on was observed on 14 October 1978, some 16 km to the each side of the highway. Twenty-eight line tran- east of the town of Barranquilla, Colombia. Such an sects,each coveringa distanceof 44 kin, were made unusuallylarge number suggestedmigrating birds. between 1000 and 1500 from 17 October 1978 to 17 A closer view confirmed this; none of the vultures January1980. One persondrove, holding the speed showedthe whitish or dull yellow bandsacross the at a constant70 km, while a secondperson, using a backs of their necks that characterize the resident hand-operatedcounter, countedvultures with the race, Cathartesaura ruficollis.Although similar in nakedeye. Due to similaritiesin their plumagecol- generalappearance and size to the Turkey Vulture, oration and silhouettes,Turkey Vultures and Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures, when soaring or roosting, were difficult to separate at a distance. Separate Present address: Charles Darwin Research Station, CasiIla 58• 39, counts for resident Turkey Vultures and the race of Guayaquil, Ecuador,South America. migratingTurkey Vultureswere even more difficult. April 1982] ShortCommunications 373 TABLE 1. Date, relative abundance, and average number of vultures (C. aura and C. burrovianus) observed per line-transectcount from 17 October 1978 to 17 January 1980. Number Num- 2 of indi- TotalJ ber of indi- Date viduals month counts viduals 17 Oct 1978 132 20 Oct 1978 137 353 3 117.7 23 Oct 1979 84 3 Nov 1978 210 4 Nov 1978 162 741 4 185.3 15 Nov 1978 117 26 Nov 1978 252 7 Dec 1978 154 14 Dec 1978 165 458 3 152.7 21 Dec 1978 139 8 Jan 1979 174' 17 Jan 1980 92 266 2 133.0 16 Feb 1979 47 Fig. 1. Yearly distribution of relative abundances 22 Feb 1979 100 147 2 73.5 16 Mar 1979 39 39 1 39.0 of Cathartesvultures in the study area, by months (J = January), from 28 line-transectcounts 17 Octo- 24 Apr 1979 27 27 1 27.0 4 May 1979 19 ber 1978 to 17 January 1980). Black areas indicate 15 May 1979 16 35 2 17.5 migration period. 3 Jun 1979 19 19 1 19.0 12 Jul 1979 24 20 Jul 1979 21 45 2 22.5 gration period, compared to a smaller proportion 2 Aug 1979 8 during the restof the year. Therefore,it appearslike- 5 Aug 1979 19 66 4 16.5 ly that migratory populationsof C. burrovianusalso 14 Aug 1979 24 wintered in the area. 20 Aug 1979 15 Blake (1977and pers. comm.) identifiesmigrating 4 Sep 1979 83 Turkey Vultures in Colombia, including the Santa 18 Sep 1979 72 223 3 74.3 26 Sep 1979 68 Marta region, as belonging to the race C. aura meri- dionalis.Indeed, basedon the known rangesof the races that could be possiblemigrants to the study area and on the measurementsof a female specimen collectedon 7 January1979, the Turkey Vultures re- The characteristicyellowish nape of resident birds ported here as wintering birds may well have be- was visible only at closerange and when birds were longed to this race rather than to C. aura septentrio- sitting or flying low. Becauseof theseuncertainties, nalis, as was assumed by Meyer de Schauensee line-transectcounts of residentand migrant Turkey (1964). The specimen,collected at PozosColorados, Vultures and Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures made Santa Marta, was cataloguedunder Nr. IND-A-3186 throughout the study were lumped into the single at the collectionof the Laboratoriode Investigacion categoryof Cathartesvultures. The only othervulture de Fauna Silvestre, Div. de Fauna Terrestre, INDER- of this genus, the Greater Yellow-head (C. melam- ENA, Bogota, D.E., Colombia. It measures as fol- brotus), is an Amazonian bird whose occurrence in lows: wing length (flattened),535 mm; tail length, the study area is highly unlikely. 270 mm; tarsus, 63.5 mm; culmen (from cere), 24.5 The abundance of vultures varied seasonally, in mm; body weight, 1,420 g; ovary small, in nonre- accordancewith the general migration pattem for productive state. The nominate race, C. aura aura, so nearctic migratory bird species (Table 1, Fig. 1). far reportedas a winter migrant only as far south as Thus, it is almostcertain that flocksof Turkey Vul- Panamfi,and C. aurajota, essentiallya highland bird tures observedalong the ColombianCaribbean coast not reported north of central Colombia, can both during the northernfall, winter, and spring seasons probably be ruled out as being involved in these were migrating or wintering birds. In addition, migrations(Blake pers. comm.). With respectto the Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures were observed in the Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures that were observed study area in greaternumbers during the migration to winter togetherwith the Turkey Vultures, it seems period, often mixed in with the flocksof Turkey Vul- reasonableto assign them to the nominate race C. tures. Roughly, 1 LesserYellow-headed Vulture to burrovianusburrovianus, which rangesfrom southern every 5-10 Turkey Vultures was seen during the mi- M6xico to Colombia. Previous records in northern 374 ShortCommunications [Auk, Vol. 99 TA•L• 2. Densities (individuals/km) of Cathartes vul- of only 30-50 m. During the first observationsin tures in the study area; 28 line-transect counts October 1978, the flocks of migrants roused in this along 44 km of coastline each for a total of 1,232 way had a rather spectaculareffect upon the local km; 2,419 vultures counted. BlackVultures (Coragypsatratus). Soon after the first TurkeyVultures had begunto soarabove their roost- Num- ing place,Black Vultures came in from all sides.The ber Number of of indi- speedof their flight and the way they flew in on a Period counts km viduals Density straight line to wheel about in the cloud of roused migrants suggestedthat they came to find carrion. Migration 18 792 2,227 2.8 On suchan occasionon 17 October,several groups Nonmigration 10 440 192 0.4 of two and three King Vultures (Sarcoramphuspapa), Totals 28 1,232 2,419 (• = 1.6) almost never seen in this coastal area, were observed flying high above. Previousobservations of the be- havior of King, Black,and Turkey vulturesfeeding on carrion have shown (Koester and Koester-Stoew- esand 1978)that Turkey Vultures in northern Colom- SouthAmerica for the largerC. burrovianusurubutin- bia invariably are the first to appearat the carcass, ga include only April through October, suggesting attractingthrough their presenceBlack Vultures that migration from its southern range (Blake 1977).
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