svihla@evax10.eng.fsu.edu (02/11/91)
My brother and I were canoeing on a spring-fed river in Northern Florida just before sunset, when two large birds whizzed directly over our heads. They were primarily black with some mottled white markings on their bodies and had very noticeable red heads. We thought they must either be turkeys or turkey vultures. The limited information I have says that turkey vultures have dark bodies with no mention of white markings. Am I correct in assuming that the birds were most likely turkeys?
pratt@paul.rutgers.edu (Lorien Y. Pratt) (02/13/91)
Nope; I'm sure it's been said before, but they were turkey vultures.
Congratulations on a close sighting! TV's have a pattern kind of like this
underneath:
^ <== Red featherless head
/--------------\
/-------/ /-----\ \----------\
/ /-----------/ \------------- \<==black part
/- White part \--\
/--------------| |----------------\
| |
/ \
/ \
\_______/
Not the best rendition, but you get the idea.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
L. Y. Pratt Computer Science Department
pratt@paul.rutgers.edu Rutgers University
Hill Center
(908) 932-4634 (Hill Center office) New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA
(908) 846-4766 (home)sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) (02/13/91)
In article <Feb.12.14.18.18.1991.1522@paul.rutgers.edu> pratt@paul.rutgers.edu (Lorien Y. Pratt) writes: >Nope; I'm sure it's been said before, but they were turkey vultures. >Congratulations on a close sighting! TV's have a pattern kind of like this >underneath: > > > ^ <== Red featherless head > /--------------\ > /-------/ /-----\ \----------\ > / /-----------/ \------------- \<==black part > /- White part \--\ > /--------------| |----------------\ > | | > / \ > / \ > \_______/ > >L. Y. Pratt Computer Science Department Thanks for the Great artwork! You did a wonderful job. But I would have called this part Grey; even Dark Grey. Does it ever actually look white? Thanks, Sandra
geek@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Chris Schmandt) (02/13/91)
In article <144605@pyramid.pyramid.com> sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes: > >Thanks for the Great artwork! You did a wonderful job. But I would have called >this part Grey; even Dark Grey. Does it ever actually look white? > Having watched a group of 4 today for 15 minutes today, I'd have to vote for grey myself! They were as close as about 20 feet overhead. I was just below the top of an open hill, and they were being mobbed by about 20 crows just over the crest. Must have been something rotten on the other side! Turkey Vultures are supposedly expanding their range north along the east coast. I'm pretty sure we didn't have them around here 10 years ago. Now I see them nearly every time I climb the local hills. chris
svihla@evax2.eng.fsu.edu (02/13/91)
In article <144605@pyramid.pyramid.com>, sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes... >In article <Feb.12.14.18.18.1991.1522@paul.rutgers.edu> pratt@paul.rutgers.edu (Lorien Y. Pratt) writes: >>Nope; I'm sure it's been said before, but they were turkey vultures. >>Congratulations on a close sighting! TV's have a pattern kind of like this >>underneath: >> >> >> ^ <== Red featherless head >> /--------------\ >> /-------/ /-----\ \----------\ >> / /-----------/ \------------- \<==black part >> /- White part \--\ >> /--------------| |----------------\ >> | | >> / \ >> / \ >> \_______/ >> >>L. Y. Pratt Computer Science Department > >Thanks for the Great artwork! You did a wonderful job. But I would have called >this part Grey; even Dark Grey. Does it ever actually look white? > >Thanks, >Sandra Thanks for the replies thus far to my original post. The light areas on the birds bodies *were* white - the sun was almost down and wasn't directly on them, so I'm pretty sure of the color. I conferred again with my brother - he estimated that their wing span was maybe five or six feet and we both tend to think that the neck as well as the head was red. The birds flew with extended necks, I think, and their wing beats were fairly rapid. I checked and found out that both turkeys and turkey vultures are relatively plentiful in the area near where we were. Does any of this information confirm or refute my guess that the UFO's were, in fact, turkeys?
sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (02/13/91)
In article <1991Feb12.233152.16610@mailer.cc.fsu.edu> svihla@evax2.eng.fsu.edu writes: > > Thanks for the replies thus far to my original post. The light areas on the >birds bodies *were* white - the sun was almost down and wasn't directly on them, >so I'm pretty sure of the color. I conferred again with my brother - he >estimated that their wing span was maybe five or six feet and we both tend to >think that the neck as well as the head was red. The birds flew with extended >necks, I think, and their wing beats were fairly rapid. I checked and found >out that both turkeys and turkey vultures are relatively plentiful in the area >near where we were. Does any of this information confirm or refute my guess >that the UFO's were, in fact, turkeys? The extended neck makes it clear : turkeys. TV's don't have much of a neck to extend, and anyway the neck isn't red. The most obvious distinction is the way they fly. TV's are excellent flyers, and even if you flushed them and they were getting away at low altitude, they make a good job of it. They look like enormous crows with an efficient wing beat. Turkeys, on the other hand, like all chicken-like birds, are clumsy fliers. They're fat birds that always fly like they have a problem staying up. As far as probability goes : both are quite possible flying across a river in a wooded area here in the Panhandle. Turkeys prefer more cover, though. Daan Sandee sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 (904) 644-7045
foley@helix.nih.gov (Charles K. Foley) (02/14/91)
In article <2229@sun13.scri.fsu.edu> sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) writes: >The extended neck makes it clear : turkeys. TV's don't have much of a neck >to extend, and anyway the neck isn't red. >The most obvious distinction is the way they fly. TV's are excellent flyers, >and even if you flushed them and they were getting away at low altitude, they >make a good job of it. They look like enormous crows with an efficient wing >beat. Turkeys, on the other hand, like all chicken-like birds, are clumsy >fliers. They're fat birds that always fly like they have a problem staying up. > Hmmm. This sounds contrary to everything I've ever heard about turkeys and vultures. Both birds are plentiful here in North Carolina and friends of mine regularly hunt turkeys. Turkeys, like many game birds such as pheasant, actually are very strong fliers. My bird guide (Birds of North America by ?) makes a point that pheasants are some of the "best" fliers of the avian world. The difference is that turkeys etc. prefer to walk or run. If you see birds flying high in the air they are almost certainly turkey vultures. Turkeys do not soar for long periods as a vulture would. -- Charles Foley (foley@iris03.niehs.nih.gov) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institutes of Health Research Triangle Park, NC 27705
kehoe@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Jeff Kehoe) (02/14/91)
What about a Crested Caracara? I have seen them in Florida. Jeff Kehoe Ft. Collins, CO
sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (02/14/91)
In article <9720020@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> kehoe@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Jeff Kehoe) writes: >What about a Crested Caracara? I have seen them in Florida. > Sorry, there are no Caracara's in Northern Florida. Also, they are birds of open country. I've seen them often enough South of Orlando. Daan Sandee sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 (904) 644-7045
grp@Unify.com (Greg Pasquariello) (02/15/91)
In article <5211@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>, geek@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Chris Schmandt) writes: > In article <144605@pyramid.pyramid.com> sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes: > > > Having watched a group of 4 today for 15 minutes today, I'd have to > vote for grey myself! They were as close as about 20 feet overhead. > I was just below the top of an open hill, and they were being mobbed > by about 20 crows just over the crest. Must have been something > rotten on the other side! > > Turkey Vultures are supposedly expanding their range north > along the east coast. I'm pretty sure we didn't have them > around here 10 years ago. Now I see them nearly every time I > climb the local hills. So are black vultures. They are nearly a sure thing now in central NJ, and have been regular in southern NY for about 3 years. This past year, the Mt. Peter Hawkwatch in Greenwood Lake NY, tallied them almost every day! > > chris -- --- Greg Pasquariello Unify Corporation grp@Unify.Com