D. August Baertlein - Writer & Ruminator
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Turkey and Black Vultures

10/23/2019

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     All of the pictures for this post were taken near Skull Valley, Arizona. Appropriate, no?

    The red-headed fellow spreading his wings above is the more common Turkey Vulture.

   The gentle-birds below, taking a bow and gazing out over the chaparral, are rarer Black Vultures.  Actually, I think it's the same bird. Note the same fall Juniper Berries in the lower right of both photos.


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     The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum website has a nice comparison of the two, noting, among other things, that while Black Vultures have no sense of smell, Turkey Vultures can detect a carcass up to a mile away! I can detect one a quarter of a mile away, but that's a different story.

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     The bright spot on the beak of the Turkey Vulture above might be mistaken for his eye. It's actually a hole that goes clear through the beak and helps to keep his nostrils clear when his head is plunged deep into a carcass. A bird's gotta eat and breathe!

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   Vultures get a bad rap for their table manners, but think what a mess the world would be if we didn't have cleanup crews. A calf died on the property about a year ago. (I'll spare you the photo.) I located it by smell, and so did the Turkey Vultures above. A flock of dozens took care of it in about a week, much to our relief.
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   Here are some soarers and perchers, just for fun. Actually, I wanted to show off Turtle Head rock there in the middle. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss's Yertle the Turtle, but I digress.
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    And for the grand finale, here is my sister at the Vulture Culture exhibit at the Desert Museum. Usually she's just a turkey, but here she's transformed herself into a great and wonderful Turkey Vulture! I didn't get a picture of her soaring.

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    Author

    I made a career of writing software by day while scribbling stories by night, a combo made even odder by the fact that I started my adult life as a marine biologist/geneticist. 

    I got my Ph.D. ever so long ago, but I still love science, especially the biological variety. Now I write SciFi and Fantasy that's full of it.  Science, I mean.


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Photos used under Creative Commons from dedhed1950, ScottM70, peru, lili eta marije, erin_everlasting, timparkinson, allspice1