Turkey Vulture –
Turkey vultures are scavengers, eating almost any dead animal’s carcass. Also called buzzards, they win no beauty contests in nature. They have a bald, red head that is tucked into a black-feathered body, and they have a sharp black beak to stab and rip at meat.
They glide low to the ground and smell for rotting animals, which are called carrion. This is not a very appealing job, but it is necessary in nature. Buzzards have their place even if they are not very pretty.
Which reminds me of two of my favorite characters in the Hank the Cowdog books – Wallace and Junior. They are ranch buzzards. Wallace is the crabby old father of Junior, who is the crazy son. One time Wallace tells off Junior for being too nice and says, “You’re not a hummingbird, Son, you’re a buzzard.”
That’s true, buzzards sure aren’t hummingbirds… That cracks me up.
