fautrever.com

A big thank you to everyone who gave it a shot (see original photo). I’ll be honest with you—when I sorted through my photos a few weeks after taking them I didn’t even know for sure what this photo was. My first thought was, “Huh, that’s funny, I don’t remember seeing a bear cub recently.” Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who thought that!

The critter in question was a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). We came across it feeding on something particularly pungent, it was so engrossed (pun intended) with its meal that it didn’t even notice us. As you might know the Turkey Vulture is a scavenger that relies on its keen sense of smell. It is one of the few birds that has the ability to smell. Actually, I am not sure how keen its sense of smell is—it swoops down from soaring when it gets a whiff of ethyl mercaptan, which is a gas released by decomposing bodies.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records ethyl mercaptan is the smelliest substance on earth. It is the same awful smell that is added to naturally odorless liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to warn people of possible leaks. Since Turkey Vultures rely on smell they migrate south during the winter months, where the warmer temperatures help carcasses rot.

They are large birds, with a 70” wingspan, that resemble Wild Turkeys with their dark coloring and bald heads (so those of you who guessed Wild Turkey weren’t that far off). Interestingly, Turkey Vultures are born with feathers on their heads, the feathers are plucked off during the preening process since bits of decaying flesh tend to stick to them. Yummy thought, eh?

Even though there are over 4.5 million of them scattered throughout the Americas Turkey Vultures are protected (with over 800 other species) under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. From what I remember only three birds are not protected under this Act: pigeons, starlings and sparrows.