« Snap Crackle Pop! | Main | Friday Feathers »
August 4, 2006
Friday Feathers
King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa) are very striking, especially since most other vultures are all black.
The wings are mostly white with black tips. The ruff, flight and tail feathers are gray to black; the black areas have an almost opalescent sheen. Their bare head, neck, beak and muttle are red, orange and yellow, with very striking eyes that are straw, white or silver in color. Their beaks have a hooked tip and cutting edges, which are very strong. Their feet are gray. This vulture is native to tropical lowland forests; its range extends from southern Mexico to southern Argentina.
Note: I photographed this one at a zoo, and thanks to some Photoshop hoo-hah, was able to sharpen the image a bit and soften the distracting cage the bird was in.
Cindy
Comments
kinda looks like that star trek (classic) puppet, cool that you can't quite tell if its beak is open or closed ...
Brain matter deposited by: sdy on August 5, 2006 3:18 AM
freaky looking things, aren't they.
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on August 6, 2006 6:39 PM
Fabulous shot! Love the intense eyes. If you're not on Flickr, you should be. I belong to a "bird group" and they'd like this shot a lot.
Brain matter deposited by: Da Goddess on August 7, 2006 3:51 AM
Joanie - coming from you that's high praise - thanks! I'm far from satisfied with this particular photo but posted it anyway because the bird is so... different. I'm not currently posting any photos on Flickr, but will check out the bird group you mentioned.
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on August 7, 2006 7:19 AM
The photo is great as usual but please fogive me for still finding him creepy.
Brain matter deposited by: Kat on August 7, 2006 9:30 AM
*begs forgiveness for having not visited for eons*
That vulture looks much like someone I know!
Brain matter deposited by: Piggy and Tazzy on August 12, 2006 4:49 PM