Most peo­ple think turkey vul­tures are ugly. Well.… mostly they are. But from a dis­tance, when they’re rid­ing on a ther­mal, they have a cer­tain majesty. And truth­fully, they’re a lot smarter than most birds of prey. Birds of prey have a nar­row intel­li­gence, focused on see­ing and killing prey. Scavengers on the other hand develop curios­ity as part of their means of sur­vival. You never know what might turn out to be food.

My neigh­bor­hood has about 30 of these guys, roost­ing in a pine a few blocks down. In the sum­mer, it stinks so bad you have to hold your breath as you pass under the tree. So they may be smart, but they still smell like rot­ting meat.