Vulture The private life of an unloved bird

It is not easy to use the words vulture and affection in the same sentence, but this reviewer sees no other way to describe the relationship between the author and subject of this book. Fallon is a trained raptor handler and a cofounder of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, which serves, among other things, as a rehabilitation center for injured birds. Her experiences with injured vultures, particularly turkey vultures, and successes with their rehabilitation and release are a primary focus of this book. The world of vultures is explored in some detail, including comments on the historic relationship between the birds and humans. Both Old and New World species are addressed, with special attention given to current threats (e.g., diclofenac in India, poaching and poisoning in Africa, and lead poisoning in the Americas). Conservation concerns are discussed. The book contains a few black-and-white photographs in one signature. Fallon's personal accounts of her field experiences are engrossing and entertaining. This work is recommended for libraries with general natural history holdings, but it is not really a science book and likely will not be of great value to a research library. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers. --Paul K. Lago, University of Mississippi

A turkey vulture is a perfect creature. To most people, turkey vultures are unappealing, naked-headed carrion eaters. But Fallon (Cerulean Blues, 2011), a researcher and wildlife rehabilitator, fell in love with turkey vultures the first time she saw one, and as she writes of a year in the life of a vulture, the reader will also come to appreciate them. Starting in the spring with a visit to Hinkley, Ohio, and its famed Buzzard Sunday, Fallon writes of the vulture's place in various cultures and religions. Nesting turkey vultures often use hidden sites, such as the occasional hayloft, and as she describes her work assisting researchers from Pennsylvania's Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as they measure and tag chicks, Fallon works in a lot of vulture natural history. Along with relating what is scientifically known (actually, surprisingly little), Fallon also writes of the birds she has worked with in her role as a wildlife rehabilitator vultures shot, hit by cars, caught in leg-hold traps, and poisoned by eating lead shot and of the thrill of releasing a recovered bird back into the wild. We, too, get to know vultures, and possibly learn to love them.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2017 Booklist

Naturalist and bird rehabilitator Fallon (Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird) presents an entertaining, well-researched title that nominally concerns the familiar turkey vulture but ranges widely, incorporating up-to-date information on condors and vultures worldwide, especially in California, India, and southern Africa. Fallon also delves into vulture folklore and the bird's place in history, mythology, and archaeological settings such as Sumer (modern-day southern Iraq), Native American sites, ancient Egypt, and the Battle of Gettysburg. She displays great passion and enthusiasm yet writes knowingly and dispassionately on the science of her subject in an engaging, literary style. The author describes her and her veterinarian husband's work rehabilitating injured birds, never skimping on complex technological and medical details. VERDICT Of interest to all naturalists, veterinarians, and birders. There is much here for professional biologists, too, and even historians.-Henry T. Armistead, -formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.