Turkey Vulture - Hide-A-Way Hills, Ohio

Often when exploring Hide-A-Way Hills, people will stumble upon the one animal responsible for much of the clean up through out the forest and the highways. Turkey Vultures depend on carrion otherwise known as dead animals for their diets and can be found through out Hide-A-Way Hills, Ohio

• The Turkey Vulture uses its sense of smell to locate carrion. The part of its brain responsible for processing smells is particularly large, compared to other birds. Its heightened ability to detect odors allows it to find dead animals below a forest canopy.
  
• The Turkey Vulture maintains stability and lift at low altitudes by holding its wings up in a slight V-shape and teetering from side to side while flying. It flies low to the ground to pick up the scent of dead animals.
  
• Like its stork relatives, the Turkey Vulture often defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces to cool itself down.
  
• The Turkey Vulture usually forages alone, unlike its smaller, more social relative, the Black Vulture. Although one Turkey Vulture can dominate a single Black Vulture at a carcass, usually such a large number of Black Vultures appear that they can overwhelm a solitary Turkey Vulture and take most of the food. Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Of course, as I came around the corner to get closer, this vulture decided it was time to be on its way.