Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture is a large, dark bird of prey best recognized in flight by its long, two-toned wings held in a shallow V and its tendency to teeter and rock unsteadily as it rides thermal currents. Adults have all-black-brown body plumage and a bare, wrinkled red head reminiscent of a wild turkey, which gives the species its common name; the head is unfeathered as an adaptation for feeding cleanly inside carcasses.

Juveniles show a dark gray, rather than red, head. In flight the underwing shows a strong two-tone pattern: black leading-edge coverts contrasting with pale silvery-gray flight feathers, visible from a considerable distance.

One of the most widespread and successful scavengers in the Western Hemisphere, the Turkey Vulture performs an essential ecological role by rapidly removing carrion, and it is unusual among birds for possessing a highly developed sense of smell that it uses to locate food.

Key Field Marks

• Long wings held in a shallow V (dihedral), with an unsteady, tilting soaring flight
• Two-toned underwing: dark leading edge, pale silvery-gray trailing half and flight feathers
• Bare red head in adults (grayish in juveniles); small, hooked pale bill
• Rarely flaps for extended periods, relying on thermals and updrafts

Similar Species

• Black Vulture has shorter, broader wings held flat (not in a V), quicker, choppier flapping between short glides, a bare gray-black head, and white patches only at the wingtips rather than across the whole flight feathers.
• Eagles and hawks have feathered heads and typically hold wings flat or slightly raised rather than in a strong V, and lack the vulture's teetering flight style.

Turkey Vultures are highly adaptable and occur across nearly the entire Western Hemisphere, from southern Canada through the United States, Mexico, Central America, and much of South America, in habitats ranging from open farmland and prairies to forests, deserts, and suburban edges.

Northern populations are strongly migratory, sometimes traveling in large communal flocks called kettles that can number in the thousands during migration, while southern populations are largely resident.

Behavior

Turkey Vultures spend much of the day soaring on thermals with minimal flapping, rocking side to side in a distinctive unsteady manner as they scan the ground below, often using both sight and an exceptional sense of smell to locate carrion. They roost communally, sometimes in large numbers, in dead trees or on structures.

Voice

Lacking a true syrinx, Turkey Vultures are essentially voiceless, producing only low hisses and grunts, mainly when threatened or interacting at a carcass or nest site.

Feeding

They feed almost exclusively on carrion, locating carcasses partly by smell - an unusual and highly developed ability among birds - which allows them to find hidden or forest-covered carcasses that visually hunting scavengers might miss.

Nesting & Breeding

Turkey Vultures do not build nests, instead laying their 1-3 eggs directly on the ground in caves, rock crevices, hollow logs, or abandoned buildings. Both parents share incubation and feeding duties, regurgitating food for the young.