Raptor Trivia: Wings Spread Wide

Raptor Trivia: Turkey Vulture's Stand Around With Wings Open to the Sun

There’s a saying about living life with arms wide open; well, these raptors seem to take that literally. At various points during the day, and especially in the early morning, Turkey vultures will spread their wings wide and just stand that way. Does this mean that they’re ready to accept whatever life has to send their way, or that they’re welcoming everyone in with no reservations? No, not really, but there is a specific reason for this behavior, and that is what this Raptor Trivia post is all about, that and some more cool raptor behavior we can add to Raptors’ Realm.

The image for this Raptor Trivia question is of the very opinionated Sol, a longtime resident and one of the wonderful Animal Ambassadors at the New Mexico Wildlife Center.

Now this behavior is one which we have observed more than once in Sol, the Animal Ambassador in the image for this post. In fact, it’s what he’s doing in the image. We also found references online for this one. The first reference can be found in a turkey vulture fun facts post at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, a nature center located on the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, GA. The second can be found in a turkey vulture fun facts article on Texas Hill Country, a news and travel site for the Texas Hill Country area. The third reference is a blog post about turkey vulture facts from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a wild west wildlife museum affiliated with the Smithsonian.

References:
https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/visit/experience/wildlife/animal-facts/turkey-vulture/
https://texashillcountry.com/10-facts-turkey-vultures/
https://centerofthewest.org/2013/11/11/my-favorite-interesting-facts-about-turkey-vultures/

This Raptor Trivia question expired on 7/29/2021.