Turkey Vulture

I could have titled this a face only a mother could love which did come to mind, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some may find this birds face beautiful.
Now I am no expert on birds but I do believe this is a Turkey Vulture, and I saw it while walking around Buttonwood Park one morning, It was on one tree, when I first say it but quickly flew off, and then I found it again where is was siting happily high up in a tree and posed for a few shots I will share here

^{Sony A7iv 600mm F6.3 1/400 Sec ISO 250
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I didn't know much about them so did some research and will share what I found

Apparently they have a very strong sense of smell which they use to locate its sense of smell to locate carrion, which probably sounds better than what it is, the decaying flesh of animals.
The part of its brain that processes smell is particularly large, compared to other birds.
This heightened ability to detect odors, allowing it to find dead animals below a forest canopy.

^{Sony A7iv 600mm F6.3 1/800 Sec ISO 800
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The Turkey Vulture maintains stability and lift at low altitudes by holding its wings up in a slight dihedral (V-shape) and teetering from side to side while flying. It flies low to the ground to pick up the scent of dead animals.

^{Sony A7iv 359mm F6.3 1/800 Sec ISO 1000
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A note so fun fact, As a defense mechanism, Turkey Vultures may vomit on a bird, animal, or human that gets too close. Considering what they eat, this can be a powerful weapon and I am glad to say clearly I didn't make this one fee threatened and get to experience this aspect of them

^{Sony A7iv 250mm F5.6 1/800 Sec ISO 320
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When it’s hot outside, Turkey Vultures will defecate on their feet to cool off.

^{Sony A7iv 500mm F6.3 1/400 Sec ISO 250
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The Turkey Vulture’s stomach acid is extremely acidic, so they can digest just about anything. This also allows them to eat carcasses tainted with anthrax, tuberculosis, and rabies without getting sick. By taking care of the carrion, vultures provide an essential service for the health of our ecosystems. Without them, carcasses would accumulate, and diseases would spread from rotting flesh.

Isnt nature grand when you think about it, these birds have a bad rap, but they actually are a cleanup crew of sorts

^{Sony A7iv 594mm F6.3 1/400 Sec ISO 200
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And that’s all folks

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unless stated otherwise all photos used in my posts are taken and owned by myself, if you wish to use any of my images please contact me.

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!pinmapple 41.628254 lat -70.952496 long Buttonwood Park New Bedford MA d3scr