"What IS that?" I asked my silent companions. They have a way of tuning me out. My copilot, the #1 son, roused himself momentarily. "It's a chicken." So spoke he who says he needs new glasses. I, myself, thought it was a medium-sized dog. It was sitting in the road, on a dead rabbit, which I had seen this morning.
As we got a bit closer to the dog-chicken, it staggered and hopped and took off like a plane with engine trouble. After much flapping, it soared off into the bright blue yonder. When I saw that it was not a dog or chicken, the critter reminded me of a giant crow. But not so shiny as a crow. That behemoth's wingspan must have been five or six feet. The body was kind of streamlined, and the head fairly small, so I knew it was not an owl. I assumed it was some kind of hawk, but upon further google investigation at home, it appears that hawks are stubby in comparison to my mystery creature. Also, I was baffled at why a hawk would be dining on roadkill.
The best identification I can come up with by comparing mugshots is a Black Vulture. I know it was not a Turkey Vulture, because we had one of them in the front yard of the Mansion a while back, and I would know that red, wrinkly head anywhere. This one did not have a head that set it off. However, in my view of its underside, I did not see the telltale white wingtip feathers of a Black Vulture. That could have been due to the angle of the sun, and me seeing only the underside in shadow.
This is not the one I saw, and appears from the picture's site to be a kite, not a vulture. But
it's the closest pic to what I observed, due to the coloring and wing shape.
So...I hereby deem the dog-chicken to be a Black Vulture. That can't be a good omen. Perhaps it means that I should actually wear glasses that correct my vision when I am driving.
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