Where the Food Is
Some scavengers like opossums and crows can be seen on the side of the road feeding on animals that have been hit by cars. Predators like foxes and coyotes eat carrion in the winter when food is scarce. The ocean has scavengers, too. Crabs and lobsters wait for food scraps to float by and then grab them.
Adapted for Scavenging
The turkey vultures is a scavenger. It only eats
carrion. It soars over the land looking for dead animals. It has excellent eyesight and a keen sense of smell that helps it locate rotting meat. Because it doesn't hunt and kill it food its legs and claws are weaker that that of most birds. The turkey vulture has a bald head. This helps keep dead meat along with the bacteria it carries from collecting in the vulture's feathers while it is digging into an animal carcass. The turkey vulture also urinates on its legs. It's urine cools the vulture and the acids in the urine kill any bacteria that collected on the vulture's legs when it was stepping in the carcass.
Image Credits: Clipart.com unless otherwise noted
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