A lot of people don’t care for turkey vultures (Coragyps atratus). I recently saw a post by a wildlife photographer who had an image of a crested caracara perched with two vultures, which he described as the “undesirables”. What that photographer and many other people forget is that even though vultures are not the most beautiful of birds, they are incredibly important to the environment. Part of the reason people don’t like them is because of their featherless heads, which is important for keeping them clean when eating carrion. They also have a number of other evolutionary adaptations that allow them to be a highly efficient clean up crew. So the next time you see a vulture, admire it for the amazing job that it does instead of thinking of it as undesirable.