Identification Photos: Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura: The Turkey Vulture is an ugly, bare-skin faced, large, soaring bird that is truly magnificent on the wing. The adult Turkey Vulture is 26 to 36 inches long, with a wingspan of 68 to 72 inches, and an average weight of 3.1 pounds. The Turkey Vulture lacks a syrinx, the vocal organ of birds, and is unusually silent, only capable of generating grunts and low hisses.

The Turkey Vulture is not capable of killing live prey and is dependent on dead animals for food. It soars for long periods of time flying low enough to scavenge by smell with an uncommon ability to pick up the scent produced by the beginning of the decay processes.

In flight, the Turkey Vulture uses thermals to move through the air, with infrequent wing flapping. On the ground it is awkward with an ungainly, hopping gait and it requires a great deal of effort to take flight.

The Turkey Vulture feeds almost exclusively on carrion (carcasses of dead animals) which includes small animals to cows and all sorts of marine life that washes up on the beach. It normally hunts alone but when food is located it forages in packs. The Turkey Vulture plays an important role in the ecosystem by disposing of undesirable waste that otherwise would be a breeding ground for diseases.

At night the Turkey Vulture roosts, dropping body temperature by 10 degrees, in large community groups. Breeding occurs between March and May with no nest structure as the eggs are placed directly on the ground in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. The clutch size is usually two eggs which are a creamy white. Both parents incubate the eggs for 30 to 40 days. The hatchlings are downy and helpless, unable to hold up their heads. They are fed by the adults via regurgitation for 10 to 11 weeks.

The Turkey Vulture has very few natural predators with its primary form of defense being regurgitation of semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance that deters most predators and nest raiders. In Mexico the Turkey Vulture is currently covered by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals and is currently deemed to be of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List with expanding populations. In the wild the Turkey Vulture has a life span that approaches 20 years.

The Turkey Vulture is a member of the Cathartidae or Vulture Family being easily recognized by their large round bodies, long tails, entirely blackish brown plumage, bald red head and neck, short, hooked ivory-colored beak, and white legs with webbed feet. They have minimal sexual dimorphism with both sexes having identical plumage and coloration. The females are slightly larger in size. The Turkey Vulture is the most common vulture of the Americas with an estimated global population of 4,500,000 individuals. The Turkey Vulture is found during summer throughout the United States and its year-around range is from the southern United States to the extreme southern tip of South America. The Turkey Vulture inhabits a variety of open and semi-open arid areas, including subtropical forests, shrub lands, pastures, and deserts.

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura: Very shy and not easily photographed. A true boon to mankind processing dead animal material that would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease. Description courtesy of John Snow. Photos courtesy of Carol Snow.