Bird Viagra

This past weekend I noticed a turkey buzzard standing in the middle of a recently harvested field. What caught my attention was that the buzzard was just standing there with his wings fully outstretched. Not getting ready for flight - just standing there.

For those of you unfamiliar with this bird, the turkey buzzard easily rivals an eagle in size. So, when fully extended, the wings are a good five or six feet tip to tip. Considering the body of the bird is only maybe a foot wide, standing in place with three feet of wing stretched out to either side has to be physically exhausting.

So why was the buzzard just standing there like that?

I thought that perhaps the posture was the bird equivalent to a teen age boy flexing muscles to impress the girls. But I didn't see any other buzzards around - unless they were hiding in the trees and giggling behind their wings.

And then I thought that perhaps the buzzard had ingested a form of bird viagra - and was experiencing wing extension lasting more than four hours.