Wild Turkeys and Black Wingtips

Photo of two tom turkeys that Deb took on Stillwater, OK,
Christmas Birdcount, 2014. I love the female giving them the once-over. 

Each morning when entering the Reserve for breakfast we would see a large flock of wild turkeys. One day when Lindsay was teaching us how to recognize Wolfberry, several Horned Larks lit near us at the boat ramp. The ANWR was filled with Northern Mockingbirds, and we often saw Sandhill Cranes, Caracara, and both Black and Turkey Vultures. We also saw both Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Eastern Phoebes, and Swamp Sparrows.

Mike Brady's photo of both Turkey Vultures (on railing) and Black Vultures (on roof). I've heard that the black vultures are a problem in parts of Florida. They perch in numbers on  rooftops and cool themselves by pooping on their legs and feet, thus making a mess of the roof

White Pelicans were plentiful and because of their black wingtips often caught our eye when flying in the distance. One day when my team was doing a vegetation survey, a large flock of White Ibis flew over. These birds are also white with black-tipped wings in flight. I have tried to discover the purpose of black wingtips— gulls, wood storks, kittiwakes, and snow geese are other white species with black or dark wingtips also — but my forays on Google have not solved that mystery, though one article suggested (but didn't prove conclusively) that black feathers had more keratin and were tougher, like fingernails.That would make sense as most of these birds are large and all are are frequent endurance flyers.

American White pelican in flight; Internet photo

Whooping Cranes in flight; Internet photo

White Ibis in flight; Internet photo