There are two species of vultures commonly seen in eastern North America: the turkey vulture and the black vulture. California condors are a third species of vulture that are found in the American west.
Vultures are aesthetically unattractive to look at up close, but they're marvelous to see soaring on thermal updrafts in large groups called "kettles." They're also environmentally important carrion-eaters as this lovely video explains:
The next time you look up and see one of these birds wheeling in the sky overhead, remember that you're watching an aeronautical and biological marvel.
