turkey vulture, turkey buzzard (Cathartes aura) Description
I wish I could get a good close shot with adequate sharpness of one of these. I love their faces! This was upsized considerably in photoshop since it was well out of the range of my humble lens.
Date 11 January 2009, 09:28
Source Turkey Buzzard at Lake Woodruff
Author Andrea Westmoreland from DeLand, United States http://www.flickr.com/people/81104336@N00
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_Buzzard_at_Lake_Woodruff_-_Flickr_-_Andrea_Westmoreland.jpg
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the turkey buzzard (or just buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John crow or carrion crow, is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
Order: Cathartiformes
Family: Cathartidae
Genus: Cathartes
Species: Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758)