Illinois/St. Louis Vultures? Carnivorous birds?

Question

I live in Alton, IL which is about ten miles from St. Louis, MO. We are in the southern half of the state, on the Mississippi River. We have hawks, bald eagles, cranes, and a whole shlew of other interesting birds, mostly down by the river.

Today, I was driving on one of our major streets, and noticed (about twenty feet off the road) two giant birds picking at a dead deer on the edge of a cemetart. (It was so amazingly creepy.) I've never seen birds like these in my life. They were huge (at least two feel long) and black with carnivorous down-turned beaks and red faces to just beyond their eyes. I parked the car and walked up to get a picture, but I couldn't get close enough without them flying away.

Do we have vultures here? I've never heard of them in this area, but that is what these looked like. I can't find a good picture of anything similar to them, or a site about IL birds that has pictures. Any info or sites that you might know would be helpful.

Answer 1

They were either vultures or buzzards, both are scavengers normally found eating carrion.

Answer 2

From your description, they sound like turkey vultures.  They have red colored, featherless heads and a curved beak for eating carrion.  We have them in WI where I live, I believe IL probably has them as well.  Check out the pictures on this site for a comparison.

www.maxwaugh.com/zoo06/vulture1.html

Answer 3

There are two species of vultures in the eastern U.S., black and turkey. The turkey vulture is the one with the red head. Take a look at a good field guide. Peterson's guide is arguably the best. Some people like Sibley's.