An extraordinary soaring raptor with a red featherless head and two-tone wings held in a shallow "V" shape as it rocks gently on Hill Country thermal currents.
Field Identification: Vivid red unfeathered head in adults, long wings held in a slight "V" (dihedral), dark body with pale silver underside on trailing wing feathers.
Texas & Hill Country Notes: Turkey Vultures possess an extraordinary sense of smell capable of detecting ethyl mercaptan gases emitted by carcasses buried under dense forest canopy. When threatened, their primary defense mechanism is projectile vomiting highly acidic stomach acids up to six feet.
