Turkey Vulture

In flight they are beautiful, up close they look like someone plucked their heads clean and forgot to iron their skin.
This was an easy one to identify and should be for anyone who knows what they're looking for. Just think about it, how many big black birds with red heads and legs are there?
It's wingspan is between 5 1/2 and 6 feet, head to tail it's upwards to 32 inches, and the vultures can weigh up to 5 pounds. They also have distinctive hooked white beaks. They don't make noise other than grunts and hisses, so if you think you've got it pegged as a Turkey Vulture and it makes a birdy noise, unfortunately, you got it wrongly identified.

Turkey vultures are very common and can be found from southern Canada to the very tip of Chile. Due to the fact that they have this wide living range and the fact that they do migrate these birds are under the Migratory Bird Protection Act just like Canadian Geese and Blackcapped Chickadees. Most of their US territory is migratory, summer, territory, but they live in Texas all year round.

This bird is as easy to identify as a Red Tail Hawk. Remember: big, dark, red head.