Warning: Graphic image. Some folks think turkey vultures are ugly birds, but they serve a very important purpose: taking care of the roadkill. I shudder to think what the area would look like without them. An interesting tidbit I learned from reading - the spread wings aren't really about warming up. According to the article, the flared wings enable the sun's UV rays to kill bacteria collected due to the vulture's unhygienic eating habits.
Maybe that will be a question on Jeopardy some day.
