![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/turkey-vulture-7878b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"turkey-vulture-7878b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThere are advantages but there’s also a price to pay for having a bald head.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago I found two Turkey Vultures on top of a small cliff and this one performed a slow, languid wing lift that lasted so long I was able to get 50 shots of it from beginning to end. This isn’t a takeoff posture, the bird didn’t take off until much later.<\/p>\n After this vulture left I was able to….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n get much closer to the second vulture – close enough that I had to shoot vertically.<\/p>\n But what these photos don’t reveal is the torment and torture being inflicted on both vultures by biting gnats. Both birds were vigorously shaking\/tossing their heads every 3-5 seconds with no breaks at all. Apparently the gnats could only get at their heads because feathers protected the rest of their body and scales protected their feet and toes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But their heads are bare skin and vulnerable to insect attack (although I think if I were a gnat I wouldn’t go near a head that ugly…).<\/p>\n While I was taking these photos I really identified with these poor birds because my head is largely bald too and my scalp was crawling with those little bastards. But I couldn’t shake my head or swipe them away with my hand because I was trying to take photos so I just had to grin and bear it.<\/p>\n Misery loves company I guess.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 II Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I always tried to time my shots in-between head shakes and tosses so this was the only photo I got of one of the vultures tossing its head. I wish we could see the gnats in the photos but they’re just too damned small. They’re called “no-see-ums” for very good reason.<\/p>\n Most other birds don’t have this problem, at least not to this extent, because their heads are feathered. A while later that same morning and only a few hundred feet from where I was photographing these vultures I spent a long time photographing the female rufous Red-tailed Hawk I posted photos of yesterday. She showed no outward signs of being the least bit bothered by gnats even though I’m sure they were buzzing all around her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here she is in a photo taken earlier this spring as she was taking off from a cliff. It’s a large crop so the image quality isn’t very good but we can see why gnats would have a difficult time getting through her defenses.<\/p>\n Good luck damned gnats, getting through that plumage barrier!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note: For years experts have assumed that the reason most vultures have bald heads is to prevent the spread of microbes and disease when they stick their heads into rotting carcasses. But there may be more to it than that. Recent research has suggested that another reason their heads and often their necks lack feathers is for thermal regulation. More info here<\/a> if you have the interest.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are advantages but there’s also a price to pay for having a bald head.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/turkey-vulture-7931b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"\/turkey-vulture-7931b-ron-dudley\\"")
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