Cathartes aura

Description

The turkey vulture is a large brown bird with a bald red head and a hooked beak for tearing meat. Most of the feathers on the underside of its wings are silver. In flight, the turkey vulture's wings form a slight V shape. A young turkey vulture has a black, not red, head.

Voice

These are very quiet birds, but occasionally they hiss or cluck.

Breeding

April to October

Habitat

These scavengers can live in many different habitats. They are usually flying overhead looking for food.

Diet

Turkey vultures eat the dead bodies (carcasses) of animals and they eat a small amount of plant matter.

Range

These birds live year-round in Mexico, the southeastern United States, and along the coast. You can find them in the rest of the United States during the summer.

Other Useful Information

These birds have an excellent sense of smell. A turkey vulture can smell rotting meat before seeing it and then, the bird just follows its nose.

Similar Species

Black vultures are almost identical to young turkey vultures. However, the black vulture has a short dark tail and only a few silver wing feathers. Also, the black vulture holds its wings nearly flat when flying.