A turkey vulture standing on the ground can ... broader wings. The zone-tailed hawk and golden eagle will mimic the wing dihedral when hunting, and dark-morph Swainson’s hawks and rough-legged ...

owls and hawks. But these vultures have a nifty escape mechanism. When they're threatened or scared, turkey vultures regurgitate a foul, acidic substance that can sting a predator's eyes and skin.

We see them circling overhead almost every day; sometimes we mistake them for hawks. In our area, these large black, bald-headed birds are usually Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), a member of ...