Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Aves › Accipitriformes › Cathartidae › Cathartes
Conservation status: least_concern
The turkey vulture is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
How To Identify
The Turkey Vulture is a large, robust raptor covered in dark brown and grayish feathers. It has a noticeable bald patch on its head and often displays a distinctive crest of feathers running down the nape.
Habitat
Turkey Vultures inhabit open and semi-open areas including grasslands, deserts, shrublands, and agricultural regions from sea level to high mountain elevations across the Americas.
Behaviour
Turkey Vultures are highly social carrion feeders that soar on thermal updrafts for hours with minimal wing flapping, scanning the ground for dead animals with their exceptional olfactory sense.
Native Range
The turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America.
Did You Know?
Turkey Vultures have an extraordinary sense of smell and can detect carrion from over a mile away, making them nature's most reliable cleanup crew. They also urinate on their own legs as a thermoregulation and antimicrobial strategy.
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