In my earlier article about high-speed bird watching (Counting Crows), I said that the best birds to identify from the back of a moving motorcycle are those that are robin-sized or larger. Crows and their relatives are one group that fits this description nicely. Raptors, or birds of prey, are another.
One of the most common raptors in northern and central California is the turkey vulture, or TV. These large, dark birds are masters of effortless flight. Once they are airborne, it is very unusual to see turkey vultures flap their wings. Instead they soar for hours, holding their wings up in a distinctive "V for Vulture" angle, as they sniff out road kill and other delectable, deceased creatures for their dining pleasure. (Turkey vultures are one of the few birds with a sense of smell.) Seen from below, the vulture is a charcoal black bird, with silver primary feathers along the trailing edges of its wings.
Up close, the vulture's most distinctive feature may be its featherless, red head. Think about it: if you had to make a living sticking your head into dead, rotting carcasses, you wouldn't want to have to worry about keeping your head feathers clean either. From a distance, however, the color of the head is not very noticeable. What you will notice is that a vulture's head appears small. This is one of the first characteristics that helps me differentiate between vultures and the less-common large dark raptor in this area, the golden eagle.
Back to the Norcal Home Page...