Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Miami, Chicago, Phoenix. 2005 - 2007

The Turkey Vulture, apparently named for the resemblance of the adult’s bald red head to that of the male Wild Turkey, is found in open and semi-open areas throughout the Americas from southern Canada to Cape Horn. Overall North American populations have increased over the last few decades and the breeding range has expanded northward: it’s a permanent resident in the southern United States but northern birds may migrate as far south as South America.

Long considered to be a “vulture” related to African species in the family Accipitridae, DNA work in the 1990s apparently showed that American vultures - including Turkey and Black Vultures and the Californian Condor - were related to Storks and Ibises, and they were moved to the order Ciconiiformes, in the family Cathartidae: this finding was later reversed by the AOU who, in their 48th Supplement, said that the move was in error and implied that the earlier suggestion was a mis-interpretation of the data!

Adults (note white eye “warts”), Miami, February 2007

 

Adult, Miami, February 2007

 

Non-adult, Miami, February 2007

 

Adult, Phoenix, August 2004

 

Adult (with Raccoon Procyon lotor carcass), Chicago, March 2006

American Black Vulture Coragyps atratus, Sao Paulo, March 2006 (for comparison purposes)

 

Often seen spiralling or drifting over cities, Turkey Vultures are superb at using lift generated by winds swirling around high-rise buildings to get them high into the air with minimal effort.

Unlike African vultures which rely on sharp eyesight alone, the Turkey Vulture also uses the sense of smell to locate carrion: the part of its brain responsible for processing smells is particularly large (its olfactory sense is estimated to be 3 times that of its smaller relative, the Black Vulture) and they find their prey by following the smell of mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay (and also, incidentally, the chemical that is added in tiny quantities to odourless natural gas to make it ’sulphury’ and easier to detect in case of a leak), to its source.

Turkey Vultures characteristically maintain stability and lift at low altitudes by holding their wings up in a slight positive dihedral (an upwards V-shape) and teetering from side to side while flying. The silver-grey underwing can flash white when the birds turn into the sun, and no other soaring bird in the Americas combines the dihedral soaring shape and silvery underwing, making the species instantly recognisable when seen from below.

Miami, December 2004

 

Miami, December 2004

 

Miami, February 2007

 

Phoenix, August 2004

 

Phoenix, August 2004

 

Miami, December 2004

 

Miami, December 2004

 

 

An excellent resource for information on Turkey Vultures is the Turkey Vulture Society website which includes many ‘real-life’ questions and detailed answers such as the following:

• “Vultures are roosting on my deck. Should I be worried about diseases or bacteria from their poop?
  Because of the nature of their diets and digestive system, vulture poop is actually a sanitizer. Amazing! Their stomachs contain digestive acids that kill virtually all bacteria and viruses, and there is even evidence for the claim that they can consume meat infected with anthrax, destroying the virus in their digestive system. After stepping in a carcass, they will often expel their waste, which is white and fluid, onto their legs. The uric acid kills any bacteria that they may have picked up from the dead animal.”

All photos copyright Charlie Moores