Vultures are sociable creatures and are often seen as a collective unit, but the name assigned to a group of vultures all depends on what they are doing at that given time.

New World vultures lack the ability to perform songs like many other species of bird. Instead, they are restricted to simple sounds, such as grunts and hisses. Black Vultures are silent most of the time. They make raspy, drawn-out hissing sounds while feeding and fighting, along with grunting noises that can sound like hungry pigs or dogs barking in the distance. Courting vultures may give a yapping sound. Nestlings give low hisses or coughs to beg for food, and adults at the nest sometimes give creaky, pigeonlike coos.