dg, you are a girl after my own heart. I thought I was the only one to handle road kill and leftover prey.

Check the good wing primaries by extending the wing; a juvenile bird's feathers come in all at once, so they are easy to identify that way. It's the only time all feathers are the same length!

I suspect it is a juvenile that did have a wing deformity, or a poorly healed fracture, which might account for the difference in size.

At any rate, that may be why it got hit, which is always sad.

I found rotting spotted turtles; their extremities were gone, probably the result of raccoons. I wanted the shells, but didn't know how to get ride of the flesh. Bury it for awhile for the beetles finish?

well hey, elly!
I know. it's been forever since I posted anything ANYWHERE. No excuses, I've been lazy. Though I have no shortage of encounters to relay since the last time I posted, and yes, some DO involve rustling dead things up off of highways. Unfortunately, sometimes that's where you get your best info... I once 24 miles with a deceased weasel packed in my spare water bottle cage!
There are various level of dedication!!

Firstly, the turtle corpse: I don't really know if there's any one way that's better than another, but I learned from trying to skeletonize a horseshoe crab that no matter where you do it, be ready for the smell. The actual cleaning job is usually no problem as there are legions of critters happy to be your janitor if you let them. I suggest placing a carcass in a slightly humid, warm, fairly open yet not too wind-prone area where flies and carrion beetles can locate it but not a fox or a possum or the neighbor's dog. I once saw a red-tail fly off with a week-and-a-half old snake carcass and I am still not sure how it managed to peel that up off the road. Or if there was even anything still edible about it, for that matter. If you have a hav-a-hart trap around, you might stick it in there for security against bigger diners. It will probably take a while to get all the tissue clean, and even then there might be some residual bits. The smell takes longer, maybe it's variable with different animals. Some things like skulls can be boiled and bleached, and you can read about doing this online. The good hot sun will do it too but it takes longer. But I don't think I'd try that with a turtleshell ...I'm not sure about spotted turtles but I know you have to watch the scutes on others as they will become loosened if it sits out too long in the elements. I am looking at the oversized red-ear slider shell hanging from my bookshelf...not sure how long it had been lying where it was when I found it but the "tortoiseshell" layer on the scutes was just then starting to get very slightly loose. I sprayed it with several thin coats of good poly and it's a truly beautiful thing to look at. Maybe you can get someone else to add info on this? I'd keep it too, if I were you.
And another thing about having this process going on in your yard: keep an eye out for what's flying around in your proximity when you are walking near the carcass. I have been riding past dead deer and other creatures and had burying beetles smack up against my face and front and when this happens to you you will smell EXACTLY like whatever they just crawled out of. But it's a small price to pay for their services.

Now the bird:
I got some pins and a white background and took some frames and after having really gotten down and looked closely and it almost looks like this was a broken wing that healed...the wing appears so much smaller because it can't extend fully like the healthy one and the feathers are contorted and compressed from being unable to fully spread out. I will try to get the pics up and maybe you can tell me if it's a juvie or not...I have only been hearing yellowthorats here for maybe a week or two.
This bird is not skin and bones though, it's been able to find food.
I do agree though, I bet the injury had a lot to do with its demise.

I just thought of something I need to add to all of this: anybody who is truly an admirer of nature has surely at one time or another picked up a bone, a shell, a feather. I must remind everyone that some of these things are considered illegal to have in your possession, for one reason or another, and I don't want to get into the legality of it here. Most of the laws concerning such materials are out there for good reasons, such as to protect an animal or plant from illegal activity/collecting. I don't always agree with the laws-- I know it's illegal to have but I can still find so much to admire in the feather on a sadly roadkilled hawk--but I know they are there to protect the things I love so I try to respect them. Find out what is ok and what's not in your areas before you add things to your knick knack shelf, as a conservation officer won't always know what was found dead from natural causes and what wasn't and in some cases it's against the law to have in your possession REGARDLESS.

If you have a red or black ant hill on your property, you can place the carcass on the hill and they will strip it in a day or two. They will scatter the smaller bones trying to haul them into the nest, but the shell should survive if a predator doesn't find it.

another great idea! I may have to try this one myself in the future.