Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture (Carthartes aura): Very large, common birds with a dark underbelly, white underwing feathers and a small, bald, red head.  They fly at a high dihedral, cruising high overhead for carrion. 

I saw two turkey vultures on a hike last Saturday through Mt. Tamalpais/Muir woods. At first, I thought I might be seeing a red-tailed hawk, but using my bird guide and class knowledge, I was eventually able to determine that it was a turkey vulture because of its high dihedral and the coloration on the underbelly. It was pretty cool to finally see a turkey vulture after talking about them all semester - I had already gotten to see/identify about 20 red-tailed hawks!