Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

Other Common Names
Commonly referred to as “buzzard” in some North American regions

Turkey Vulture Habitat

Other Common Names

Commonly referred to as “buzzard” in some North American regions

At the Aquarium

Turkey Vulture Habitat

Appearance

Turkey vultures are recognizable by their featherless red head and dark body feathers. Their beak and legs are pale. Their talons are sharp and their beak is hooked, helping them scavenge and shred carcasses. Juveniles have an ashy-gray featherless head.

While soaring, turkey vultures hold their wings slightly raised, making a shallow ‘V’ shape called a dihedral. The underside of their flight feathers are silver-gray. They glide side to side, almost appearing unsteady in the air.

Turkey vultures grow to lengths of 26 to 32 inches with a wingspan of 68 to 72 inches.

Habitat

Open areas such as roadsides, suburbs and countrysides

Diet

Carrion, the decaying flesh of dead animals, including roadkill and dead young of other bird species

Life History

The turkey vulture is a partial migrant. Those that breed north of 30° N and south of about 30° S tend to migrate towards the equator in the winter. Meanwhile turkey vultures that already live closer to the equator are mostly non-migratory.

Turkey vultures often soar and circle in groups known as kettles.

They nest in the bare floors of caves, rock outcroppings, hollow trees, empty buildings and rocky cliffs. They lay 1 to 3 white or cream colored eggs often spotted with brown.

Both males and females sit on the eggs for 38 to 41 days. Young turkey vultures remain in the nest 66 to 88 days after hatching, relying on their parents for food and protection. Turkey vultures feed their young by regurgitation.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

As scavengers, turkey vultures are part of nature’s clean up crew. They play a role in protecting the health of the environment and human well-being by reducing organic human-created waste and the carcasses of both livestock and wildlife.

Widespread throughout the United States and into southern Canada and South America

Turkey vultures are a common sight in the spring through the fall throughout Oregon, including along the coast. They are most commonly found at lower elevations and in large valleys

Despite their large wingspan turkey vultures only weigh about 3 pounds.

To regulate their body temperature in hot weather turkey vultures extend their unfeathered head and neck. They also urinate on their legs. It might sound silly to us, but turkey vultures don’t have sweat glands like humans do so they use this process, called urohydrosis, to cool down.

Turkey vultures have a keen sense of smell which helps them find carrion.

Citations & Other Resources

BirdLife International. 2018. Cathartes aura. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018
Alsop, F. 2001. Birds of North America (1st American ed.). DK.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. N.d. Turkey Vulture Identification. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. N.d. Turkey vulture. https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/turkey-vulture
Dodge, S., G. Bohrer, K. Bildstein, S.C. Davidson, R. Weinzierl, M.J. Bechard, D. Barber, R. Kays, D. Brandes, J. Han, and M. Wikelski. 2014. Environmental drivers of variability in the movement ecology of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) in North and South America. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences, 369(1643), 20130195. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0195
Arad, Z., U. Midtgård, and M.H. Bernstein. 1989. Thermoregulation in Turkey Vultures. Vascular Anatomy, Arteriovenous Heat Exchange, and Behavior. The Condor (Los Angeles, Calif.), 91(3), 505–514. https://doi.org/10.2307/1368103
Grilli, M. G., K.L. Bildstein, and S.A. Lambertucci. 2019. Nature’s clean-up crew: Quantifying ecosystem services offered by a migratory avian scavenger on a continental scale. Ecosystem Services, 39, Article 100990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100990

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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