What do buzzards represent

The buzzards that the narrator sees in "Triumph Over the Grave" symbolize mortality and the suddenness of death. When the narrator leaves Darcy Miller’s house after scheduling his doctor’s appointment, he sees a kettle of vultures picking at a bloody animal carcass along the side of the ranch’s driveway. While the carcass had not been there when he arrived at the ranch, no more than an hour later he finds it being devoured in the afternoon sun. This is one of many instances in which the narrator is confronted with the concept of mortality, and in this case the suddenness with which death can occur. This is further emphasized by the fact that Darcy himself suffers a very sudden and unexpected decline in health. Though he seemed fine when the narrator had visited him weeks earlier, he died about a month later.