Turkey Vultures

Appearance

The Turkey Vulture's head, like its namesake, is bald and red. Its plumage is primarily dark brown In flight, the undersides of the flight feathers appear silver or white). Genders appear identical.

The Vulture's Bald Head:
There is an important purpose to the vulture's bald head. When the vulture is eating carrion, it must often stick its head inside the carcass to reach the meat. A feathery head would capture unwanted pieces of the vulture's meal, along with all the bacteria it hosts. After mealtime, the turkey vulture perches in the heat of the sun. Here, whatever has managed to cling to the few bits of fuzz on their head will be baked off once and for all.

Size

25 to 32 inches long, with a wingspan around 6 feet.
Healthy adult Turkey Vultures weigh approximately 6 pounds.

Voice

Turkey vultures, like most other vultures, have very few vocalization capabilities. They can only utter hisses and grunts. They usually hiss when they feel threatened. Grunts are commonly heard from hungry young, and adults in courtship

Diet/Feeding

The Turkey Vulture, contrary to popular belief, does not feed strictly on carrion. This bird enjoys plant matter as well, including shoreline vegetation, pumpkin, and bits of other crops. The Turkey Vulture soars above the ground for most of the day, searching for food with its excellent eyesight and highly developed sense of smell.

Extremely unagressive and non-confrontational, the Turkey vulture will not feed on live prey, an occasional habit of its cousin the black vulture.

Turkey Vultures can often be seen along roadsides, cleaning up roadkill, or near rivers, feasting on washed-up fish, another of their favorite foods.

Flight

Turkey Vultures fly with their wings in a dihedral (V-shape). They are most graceful in flight, and can soar for hours at high altitudes without ever flapping their wings. Their occasional necessary flaps and takeoffs are quite laborious, however, and the birds often fall victim to predators and cars as a result.

How the Turkey Vulture Flies

The turkey vulture is one of the most skilled gliders among the North American birds. It migrates across the continents with minimal energy output. Vultures launch themselves from their perches only after the morning air has warmed. Then, they circle upward, searching for pockets of rising warm air, or thermals. Once they have secured a thermal, they allow it to carry them upward in rising circles. When they reach the top of the thermal, they dive across the sky at speeds near 60 miles per hour, losing altitude until they reach another thermal. All this is done without the necessity to flap. In fact, the turkey vulture can glide for over 6 hours at a time without flapping a wing!

Range/Habitat

By far the most widespread of the New World vultures, the Turkey Vulture can be found throughout the entire United States, north into Canada along the east and west coasts, and south into central South America.

These birds prefer open areas, but can be found almost anywhere. They live along coastlines; in deserts; throughout plains; and even in inland forests.

Behavior

The Turkey Vulture is gentle and non-aggressive. Turkey Vultures roost in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. These unique birds have a variety of interesting habits:

The Horaltic Pose

Turkey Vultures are often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. This is called the "horaltic pose." The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: Drying the wings, Warming the body, and Baking off bacteria.

Why the Turkey Vulture Vomits

The turkey vulture has few natural predators. Its primary form of defense is vomiting. The birds do not "projectile vomit," as many would claim. They simply cough up a lump of semi-digested meat. This foul smelling substance deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the offending animal is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes.

In some cases, the vulture must rid its crop of a heavy, undigested meal in order to lift off and flee from a potential predator. In this case, the regurgitated material has not yet been digested. Most predators will give up pursuit of the vulture in favor of this free edible offering.

Breeding/Life Cycle

The turkey vulture nests on the ground and in caves. It does not construct a traditional "nest," but rather scratches out an indentation in the soil. Vulture nests are often found in abandoned barns and sheds, which provide safe hiding places similar to a cave of hollowed log.

Turkey vultures can raise only one brood a year, consisting of 1 to 3 (but usually 2) blotchy-looking eggs. Both parents share the responsibilities of incubating and caring for the brood.

Young are covered in pure white down, and have dark grey faces.

The eggs incubate for 38 to 41 days. Both parents share the reponsibilities of incubation.
Young fledge 70 to 80 days after hatching. Immature fledgelings still have darker heads, and can be confused with the black vulture, from a distance.

Legal Status

This bird is protected by international Migratory Bird treaties, and its numbers are healthy. It is estimated that turkey vulture populations have grown by 1.79% in recent years.

Please read more about us and our bird removal services .  You can also learn about Cowleys history and understand why to choose Cowleys for bird exclusion. You can read about what physical or visual bird deterrents are used and what to do if nuisance birds are taking over your business.