They look this way for a reason…

Went exploring this morning at Jordan Lake dam in New Hill, NC and found this Black Vulture sitting in the grass overlooking the water. What a fascinating bird to see up close!
Most vultures have bare skin on their heads. One of the reasons why is this keeps the blood from their meals from matting into their feathers.
Another possibility is that this bare skin helps cool the bird down on hot days, depending on how far out they extend their neck’s.
By changing their posture to expose more or less of the bare skin on their heads and necks, vultures could cut their heat loss by half in cold conditions and increase their heat loss by almost a quarter in certain hot conditions, like those which are found around here in North Carolina during the summer. 🙂
Photo by @sally_siko .