what are these dudes doing?

[eSJay]

on the way home the other day, these 3 vultures caught my eye. i stopped & watched for a while trying to figure out why they held their wings outstretched like that for so long.
what say yall?

[ShiftZ]

Dunno...maybe it's mating season and they are trying to show off for the females.

[blkdout]

Saw one doing the same the other day made me wonder too

[Wingman]

Cooling. Seriously. They crap on their feet also.

[Wingman]

I googled it and looks like I was wrong about the wings. They do poop on their feet to cool off, though. What I read said they use the heat to kill bacteria from carrion they have eaten. So they spread their wings to let the sun kill the bacteria that is in their feathers.

[digger]

I'v seen them doing this and assumed they were warming or drying their feathers after a rain because I see it more after a rain.

[Wingman]

I see cormorants do it but I figured it was drying their feathers after diving. They'll spread their wings on the water.

[landscaper]

[eSJay]

probably something to the post rain ritual thing. this particular picture was taken after a rain.

[rjohnson]

I see them doing it when several are surrounding a dead carcass on the side of the road. I figured they were showing dominance or trying to determine the pecking order or something.