Today, I was driving on one of our major streets, and noticed (about twenty feet off the road) two giant birds picking at a dead deer on the edge of a cemetart. (It was so amazingly creepy.) I%26#039;ve never seen birds like these in my life. They were huge (at least two feel long) and black with carnivorous down-turned beaks and red faces to just beyond their eyes. I parked the car and walked up to get a picture, but I couldn%26#039;t get close enough without them flying away.
Do we have vultures here? I%26#039;ve never heard of them in this area, but that is what these looked like. I can%26#039;t find a good picture of anything similar to them, or a site about IL birds that has pictures. Any info or sites that you might know would be helpful.
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
From your description, they sound like turkey vultures. They have red colored, featherless heads and a curved beak for eating carrion. We have them in WI where I live, I believe IL probably has them as well. Check out the pictures on this site for a comparison.www.maxwaugh.com/zoo06/vulture1.html 100% 2 Votes
Other Answers (2)
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They were either vultures or buzzards, both are scavengers normally found eating carrion.
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There are two species of vultures in the eastern U.S., black and turkey. The turkey vulture is the one with the red head. Take a look at a good field guide. Peterson%26#039;s guide is arguably the best. Some people like Sibley%26#039;s.
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