vulture effigies

[darkoshi]

We got an email at work a couple of weeks ago that mentioned "vulture effigies" being installed on the grounds in an attempt to keep the vultures away from the buildings. (I'm not clear why; it seems the Canadian Geese make much more of a mess with their droppings than the vultures. But maybe it's a different story up on the building roofs.)

I searched to see what vulture effigies look like:
https://www.amazon.com/BirdBusters-Vulture-Effigy-Vultures-Buzzards/dp/B075HLYDCG
http://www.allaboutprops.com/sales/vulture-sales2.html

Those look way more realistic than the fake owls we had in the parking lot a long time ago, but are still obviously fakes.

I forgot about the email until some days later when walking out the back entrance. A feathery thing was hanging from a tree limb. I realized it must be one of the effigies, but it sure looked like it had real feathers, so I had to wonder.

Now I've read that sometimes people hang up real dead vultures as a deterrent.

Comments

[marahmarie]

Why would vultures repel vultures? Is it a territorial thing, or something? You'd think similar animals might attract, not repel, each other, so the apparent science confuses me.

[darkoshi]

They do it so that the effigies look like dead vultures, hanging them upside down. It's supposed to scare the live ones.

But then again...
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread57131.htm

[marahmarie]

There's (government-funded) pseudo-science for you! Hmmpf.