Cathartis
Cathartis Watching the birds, up close it's easier to spot and identify the smaller song birds. In the sky the larger raptors and scavengers are easier to spot and identify. Over the water we follow the ospreys and eagles. But looking back landward we more often see circling turkey vultures ( cathartis mura) , usually several at a time. Here is one of mine, with a heraldic glyph. The bald eagle is not really bald, but has a head with white feathers. The turkey vulture is truly bald, devoid of feathers, the better to bury his head in messy carrion, hence its red fleshy head.