I like them better than those nasty acting black vultures that kill calves and lambs. They don't always wait until something dies, they go after helpless critters and peck their eyes out and keep on until they kill it. The black vultures have nearly taken over around these parts of KY and the turkey vultures aren't seen as much as they used to be.
You are right, the smaller black headed vulture is much more aggressive and will run the turkey buzzard off a carcass. I have had 3 live calves eaten by the blacks but I don't recall any live ones attacked by the turkey variety.
