# Turkey vulture (*Cathartes aura*)

Vultures are large birds with bald heads that help keep the environment clean by eating animals that have died. They have excellent eyesight and can soar high in the sky for hours without flapping their wings.

- **Category:** [Birds](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/bird)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 319
- **Habitat:** Various habitats including forests, grasslands, and deserts
- **Also known as:** John Crow, Turkey Vulture

![Vulture](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771425739/objects/6500.jpg)

## Appearance

The Vulture has mostly dark brown or black feathers, with a bare, wrinkled head and neck. The head is red in adults and grey in young birds. Adults have a pale, bone-colored bill.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Accipitriformes
- **Family:** Cathartidae
- **Genus:** Cathartes

## Turkey vulture, up close

The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is a large New World vulture found from southern Canada to Tierra del Fuego. It soars on rising warm air with its wings held in a shallow V and, unusually for a bird, finds much of its food by smell. It eats almost only dead animals, which makes it part of nature’s clean-up crew.

Also called: Turkey buzzard, TV (birders’ nickname).

A bare red head, a nose for carrion and wings held in a V. Spin it, tap it, then test yourself.

### Special abilities

- **Carcass Radar** (4× bigger smell centres than a black vulture): Unusually for a bird, a turkey vulture finds much of its food by smell, even under trees where it cannot see the ground. [6][14][15][16][8]
  - Its olfactory bulbs are 4 times larger than a black vulture’s, with twice as many key nerve cells, although its brain is 20% smaller.
  - In a tropical forest test, turkey vultures relied almost entirely on smell. They found day-old carcasses well but had trouble with very fresh ones.
  - Exactly which smells they follow is still being worked out. A 1986 lab test found they were not especially sensitive to ethanethiol (ethyl mercaptan), a gas often named as their main clue.
  - Black vultures have a poor sense of smell and often follow turkey vultures to food.
  - Size of the smell centres (olfactory bulbs): Turkey vulture 4×; Black vulture 1×
- **Wobble Glide** (1.6–2 m wingspan for gliding): Once it is up, a turkey vulture hardly flaps. It glides with its wings raised in a shallow V and rocks from side to side like a tightrope walker. [1][2][9][3][17][18]
  - The V shape (called a dihedral) helps keep it steady in bumpy air.
  - It has a lot of wing for its weight, so it floats easily.
  - Low over forest edges, under 50 m up, it can even ride small swirls of turbulent air in a wobbly “contorted soaring”.
  - In thin mountain air it simply flies faster to keep enough lift.
- **Thermal Lift** (100s of birds in a migrating kettle): Turkey vultures ride thermals, bubbles of warm air rising from sun-warmed ground. They circle up inside one, then glide to the next. [7][1][3][19][20]
  - They wait for the sun to warm the ground before leaving the roost, and rarely migrate early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
  - Migrating flocks, called kettles, can hold hundreds of birds. In the right spot you can see thousands pass.
  - A turkey vulture wearing a heart-rate logger for 124 hours of flight showed only a small rise in heart rate on long-distance days. Soaring is cheap.
  - Satellite tracking of 24 birds over nearly 10 years showed they travel faster where thermals are common.
- **Sun Salute** (2 jobs: drying and warming): On cool or damp mornings a turkey vulture stands with its wings spread wide towards the sun. [10][7]
  - A study at an Arizona roost found wing-spreading went with strong sunshine and was more common when the birds were wet.
  - The scientists concluded it helps dry the feathers and balance body temperature. Shaking off parasites seemed unlikely.
  - Afterwards the birds often set off once the sun has made thermals.
- **Iron Gut** (76 kinds of gut bacteria (528 on the face)): Its gut is a tough filter: a 2014 DNA study found that only a few kinds of microbes survive inside. [11][7]
  - Scientists sampled the faces and guts of 50 turkey and black vultures.
  - The face carried about 528 kinds of bacteria, the gut only about 76.
  - Food DNA that was easy to find on the face was completely broken down in most guts.
  - Missouri’s conservation department says their immune systems protect them from botulism and salmonella on carrion.
  - Kinds of bacteria per vulture (average): Gut ≈76; Face skin ≈528
- **Keep Cool** (2 bare parts: head and legs; still debated): Bare skin on the head and legs may help a turkey vulture lose heat, and on hot days it wets its legs to cool down. [3][5][4][13][7]
  - Why vultures are bald is still debated. Staying clean while feeding is one idea; helping control body temperature is another.
  - In hot weather it pees on its own legs. As the liquid dries, it cools them. Scientists call this urohidrosis.
  - New World vultures, condors, storks, gannets and boobies all do this. It works only for birds that can drink often.
  - That is why their pink legs often look white-streaked.
- **Clean-up Crew** (≈90% of test food cleared by vultures): By eating dead animals, turkey vultures tidy up the countryside and recycle food that would otherwise rot. [14][7][3]
  - In a tropical forest test, turkey and black vultures removed about 90% of the food put out for them.
  - They tended to reject meat that was already rotten.
  - They mainly eat dead mammals, plus dead reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish.
  - Clearing away carcasses helps limit the spread of some diseases.
- **Heavy Lift-off** (0.85–2 kg to haul off the ground): Taking off is the hard part. A turkey vulture needs deep, heavy wingbeats to get into the air. [2][1][7][9]
  - At take-off its wingbeats are deep and slow.
  - Once it is above the trees, it rarely flaps again.
  - That is why vultures wait at the roost until the sun has warmed the ground and made thermals.

### Body parts

- **Head** (Bare red skin, almost no feathers) [1][2][3][4]
  - Adults have a bare red head with few or no feathers. It looks like a wild turkey’s head, which is how the bird got its name.
  - Young birds have grey heads and dark bills.
  - A bare head stays cleaner when the bird feeds. Scientists also study whether bare skin helps it control its temperature.
- **Nostrils** (4× bigger smell centres than a black vulture) [5][6]
  - New World vultures have long, horizontal nostrils with a space between them.
  - Behind them sits an amazing smell system: the turkey vulture’s olfactory bulbs, the brain’s smell centres, are 4 times larger than a black vulture’s.
  - They are the largest olfactory bulbs of any bird measured so far.
- **Beak** [1][7][8]
  - Adults have a pale, bone-coloured bill.
  - It eats almost only dead animals: mostly mammals, but also reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish.
  - Unlike the black vulture, it almost never takes live prey.
- **Voice** (Hiss no syrinx, no song) [7][5][9]
  - It has no syrinx, the voice box of birds, so it cannot sing or call. It can only hiss and grunt.
  - Most of its sounds are used to warn off predators.
- **Wings** (1.6–2 m wingspan) [9][3][2][1]
  - The wingspan is about 1.6–2 m, about the height of a tall adult.
  - From below, the wings look two-toned: black at the front, silvery grey at the back.
  - It has a lot of wing for its weight (light wing loading), so it floats easily on rising air.
  - It soars with its wings raised in a shallow V and often rocks from side to side.
- **Feathers** (0.85–2 kg body weight) [1][9][10]
  - Its body feathers are dark blackish-brown. Males and females look alike.
  - On many mornings it spreads its wings in the sun to dry its feathers and warm up.
  - For all that wing, it weighs only about 0.85–2 kg.
- **Gut** (76 kinds of gut bacteria (528 on the face)) [11][12]
  - A 2014 study of 50 turkey and black vultures found about 76 kinds of bacteria in the gut, against about 528 on the face.
  - DNA from the food was completely broken down in most of the guts, so the gut works like a very tough filter.
  - The microbes that do live there, such as Clostridia and Fusobacteria, make many other animals ill.
  - Scientists have tested whether germs survive a trip through a vulture’s gut since the 1970s, starting with an African white-backed vulture.
- **Legs and feet** [7][3][13][5]
  - The legs and feet are pink but often stained white.
  - On hot days it pees on its own legs. As the liquid dries, it cools the bare skin. Scientists call this urohidrosis.
  - New World vulture feet are weak and not made for grasping, unlike an eagle’s.
- **Tail** [1][7]
  - It has a longish tail for a vulture.
  - The black vulture has a shorter tail and white patches near its wingtips, an easy way to tell them apart in the sky.

### Stats

| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 0.85–2 kg | depends on the subspecies [9][3] |
| Wingspan | 1.6–2 m | tip to tip; black vulture 1.37–1.52 m [9][3][21] |
| Length | 64–81 cm | bill to tail tip [9][2] |
| Eggs | 1–3 | usually 2, laid without a nest [2][9] |
| Incubation | 30–41 days | both parents take turns [9][2] |
| First flight | 70–80 days | independent about a week later [9] |
| Oldest known | 16 yr 10 mo | a wild bird with a leg band [9] |
| Roost size | Several hundred | birds sleeping together, sometimes with black vultures [9][1] |
| Smell centres | 4× | larger than a black vulture’s; Twice as many key nerve cells, in a brain 20% smaller [6] |
| Height range | >3,000 m | of elevation where it lives, and it flies higher still [18] |

### Photos

- [Soaring over Viñales, Cuba](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_vulture_(Cathartes_aura)_in_flight.JPG) (photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Perched in a tree in Michigan, USA](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_Vulture_Perched_in_a_Tree.JPG) (photo: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0)
- [The sunning pose, Santa Rosa, California](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_vultures_(Cathartes_aura)_(01747).jpg) (photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Wings open to dry and warm up](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_vultures_(Cathartes_aura)_(01745)a.jpg) (photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [A juvenile over the North Rim of the Grand Canyon](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juvenile_Turkey_Vulture_(Cathartes_aura)_-_Flickr_-_Gregory_%22Slobirdr%22_Smith.jpg) (photo: Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0)
- [Youngsters at Bears Den Overlook, Virginia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_Vulture_juveniles%2C_Bears_Den_Overlook%2C_Virginia.jpg) (photo: Strawser, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- [Waiting in a dead tree before take-off, Morro Bay, California](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_Vultures_(Cathartes_aura)_Preflight_Warmup.jpg) (photo: Joyce Cory (docentjoyce), CC BY 2.0)
- [Riding rising air together in Quebec, Canada](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathartes_aura_flight_2_SAA.jpg) (photo: Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- [Cousin: a black vulture in Cartagena, Colombia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_vulture_in_Cartagena_01.jpg) (photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0)

### Questions

- **Can turkey vultures really smell dead animals?** Yes. In a forest test, turkey vultures relied almost entirely on smell to find hidden carcasses, and they have the largest smell centres in the brain of any bird measured. Black vultures often follow them to food. [14][6][16]
- **Why do turkey vultures have bald heads?** Nobody is completely sure. A bare head stays cleaner when a vulture feeds inside a carcass, and scientists also think bare skin may help it lose or keep heat. Both ideas may be true. [3][5][4]
- **Are turkey vultures dangerous to people?** No. They do not attack people. A frightened bird may hiss or throw up its meal, so watch from a distance and never touch or handle one. If you find one that seems hurt, tell an adult, who can call a local wildlife rescue. [7][1][5]
- **Do turkey vultures kill animals?** Almost never. They feed almost entirely on dead animals. The black vulture, a cousin, sometimes kills newborn calves or lambs. [1][7][8]
- **Why do turkey vultures sit with their wings spread out?** It is called the sunning pose. A study found they do it in strong morning sun and more often when wet, to dry their feathers and balance their body temperature. [10][7]
- **What is the difference between a turkey vulture and a black vulture?** Adult turkey vultures have red heads, longer tails and two-toned wings held in a V, and they find food by smell. Black vultures have grey-black heads, short tails and white wingtip patches, and they find food by sight, often by following turkey vultures. [1][2][7][8][16]
- **Do turkey vultures migrate?** Northern turkey vultures do. They fly south in flocks called kettles to Mexico, Central America and the coastal US. They are the most migratory of all vultures. [3][1]
- **Why do turkey vultures circle in the sky?** They are riding thermals, rising bubbles of warm air, to gain height without flapping. Soaring costs them little energy while they search for food by smell and sight. [1][19]

### Turkey vulture myths and facts

Tap Myth or Fact for each claim, then check the answer.

- "All vultures belong to one family of birds." **Myth!** Turkey vultures belong to the New World vultures of the Americas. Old World vultures, like the griffon, are in the same family as eagles and hawks. The two groups evolved their carrion-eating lives separately. [5][6]
- "Turkey vultures can find food by smell." **Fact!** In a forest test they relied almost entirely on smell, and they have the largest smell centres of any bird measured. [14][6]
- "Vultures like their meat as rotten as possible." **Myth!** Turkey vultures were best at finding carcasses about a day old, and they tended to reject meat that was already rotten. [14]
- "Gas engineers found leaks by watching for circling turkey vultures." **Not proven!** This popular story says vultures were drawn to the smell added to gas. We could not find the original report, and a 1986 lab test found turkey vultures were not especially sensitive to that smell, ethanethiol. [15]
- "Turkey vultures pee on their legs to keep cool." **Fact!** As the liquid dries, it cools their bare legs. This is called urohidrosis, and storks do it too. [3][13]
- "Turkey vultures often attack live farm animals." **Myth!** They feed almost entirely on dead animals. It is the black vulture that sometimes kills newborn calves or lambs. [1][8]
- "Turkey vultures cannot sing." **Fact!** They have no syrinx, the voice box of birds, so they can only hiss and grunt. [7][5]
- "Vultures spread disease by eating dead animals." **Myth!** By clearing away carcasses they help limit the spread of some diseases, and their tough gut breaks down almost everything that goes in. [3][11]

### Turkey vulture records

Superlatives and record holders, each checked against its source.

- Biggest smell centres of any bird: Turkey vulture, 4× a black vulture (the largest olfactory bulbs among the birds measured, in size and for its brain size) [6]
- Most migratory vulture: Turkey vulture, Kettles of 100s (northern birds fly south to Mexico, Central America and the coastal US for winter) [1][3]
- Most widespread vulture: Turkey vulture, Canada → Tierra del Fuego (the widest range of any vulture species in the world) [6][9][3]
- Oldest known wild turkey vulture: A banded bird, 16 yr 10 mo (identified by its numbered leg band) [9]
- Biggest sleepovers: Communal roosts, Several hundred (birds in one roost, sometimes mixed with black vultures) [9][1]
- Up and down the mountains: Turkey vulture, >3,000 m (elevation range it lives across; air at the top is up to 27% thinner) [18]

### A year in the life of a turkey vulture

From the morning sunbathe to the long trip south, for a turkey vulture from the north of the range.

- **Every morning**: Sun first. Birds leave the roost for sunny perches, spread their wings and wait for the sun to warm the ground and make thermals. [7][10]
- **Breeding season**: Circle dance. Several birds hop around a circle on the ground with wings partly spread. In the air, one bird follows another, flapping and diving. [9][2]
- **Egg time**: No nest needed. Usually 2 eggs are laid on the bare floor of a cave, rock crevice, hollow log or tree. Turkey vultures build no nest. [2][9][5]
- **30–41 days**: Taking turns. Both parents keep the eggs warm until they hatch. [9][2]
- **Nestling weeks**: Fed by mum and dad. Parents feed the chicks food brought back up from their own stomachs. If a predator comes close, nestlings defend themselves by throwing up. [3][1]
- **70–80 days**: First flight. The young fledge and become independent about a week later. They have grey heads and dark bills at first. [9][1]
- **Autumn**: Heading south. Northern birds migrate in kettles of up to hundreds, soaring from thermal to thermal in the middle of the day. [1][3]
- **Winter**: Warm-country roosts. They spend winter in Mexico, Central America and the coastal US, often roosting by the hundreds with black vultures. [3][1]

### Turkey vulture vs black vulture vs griffon vulture

Turkey and black vultures are cousins. The griffon only looks similar: it is an Old World vulture, related to eagles.

| | Turkey vulture | Black vulture | Griffon vulture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific name [22][23][24] | Cathartes aura | Coragyps atratus | Gyps fulvus |
| Family [7][16][5] | New World vultures (Cathartidae) | New World vultures (Cathartidae) | Old World vultures, with eagles and hawks (Accipitridae) |
| Lives in [9][3][25][8][5] | Southern Canada to Tierra del Fuego | Eastern North America to most of South America | Europe, Africa and Asia |
| Finds food by [6][8][16] | Smell and sight | Sight, and following turkey vultures | Sight |
| Nest [2][9][16][5] | None: eggs on a cave floor, in a hollow log or tree | None: dark nooks, even old buildings | A stick nest on a ledge or in a tree |
| Voice [7][5] | Hisses and grunts (no syrinx) | Hisses and grunts | Noisy at carcasses: grunts, croaks, screeches |
| Feet [5] | Weak, not for grasping | Weak, not for grasping | Stronger feet |
| IUCN status [22][23][24] | Least Concern | Least Concern | Least Concern |

Old and New World vultures evolved their bald heads and carrion diets separately, a case of convergent evolution.

### Are turkey vultures endangered?

No. Turkey vultures are common and widespread. Lead is the main worry scientists have found.

- **IUCN Red List:** Least Concern (LC) (Population increasing). Common from southern Canada to Tierra del Fuego, and its range has been spreading north. [22][9][3]
- IUCN Red List (BirdLife International)
- **Threat: Lead** (108 of 108): Every turkey and black vulture tested in eastern North America showed long-term lead exposure in its bones. Sources included lead ammunition in carcasses, old petrol, coal power plants and zinc smelting. [25][7]
- **Threat: Poisoned carcasses**: Around the world, vultures die when people poison carcasses to kill predators that attack livestock. [5]
- **Helping: Protected by law**: In the US, turkey and black vultures are on the official list of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. [26]
- **Helping: Lead-free ammunition**: Ammunition is one of the lead sources scientists traced in vultures, so lead-free ammunition removes part of the problem. [25][7]
- **Helping: Counting every autumn**: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania has counted migrating birds of prey, including turkey vultures, every autumn since 1934. [1]
- **Black vulture** (LC): Also common. It often follows turkey vultures to food and sometimes kills newborn livestock. [23][8]
- **Griffon vulture** (LC): An Old World vulture. Many Old World vultures elsewhere are in serious trouble, and groups such as the Peregrine Fund work to save them. [24][3]

### Turkey vulture signals

- Hissing or grunting: A warning to back off. These are almost the only sounds it can make. [7][9]
- Wings spread on a perch: Drying off or warming up in the morning sun. [10]
- Hopping in a circle with wings half open: Courtship: several birds dance together on the ground. [2][9]
- One bird following another, flapping and diving: A courtship flight. [2][9]
- Bringing up its meal: Feeling threatened. Chicks do it to defend themselves, and adults may do it to get lighter and fly off. Give it space. [1][5]
- Many birds sharing one roost: Normal night-time behaviour: groups can number several hundred. [9][1]

### Looks

- **Adult**: Dark brown-black body, silvery-grey undersides to the flight feathers, a bare red head and a pale, bone-coloured bill. (Males and females look alike) [1][2][9]
- **Juvenile**: Like an adult, but with a grey head and a dark bill. (Young birds after they leave the nest) [1][2]
- **Sunning pose**: An adult standing with its wings spread wide, often on a perch in the morning sun. (Dries the feathers and warms the bird up) [10][7]
- **Black vulture**: A cousin in the same family: black with a bare, grey-black head, a shorter tail and white patches near the wingtips. (Finds food by sight and by following turkey vultures) [7][8][16]

### Turkey vulture quiz

1. How does a turkey vulture find food hidden under trees? **By smell.** In a forest test they relied almost entirely on smell. [14][6]
2. How much bigger are its smell centres than a black vulture’s? **4 times.** Its olfactory bulbs are 4 times larger, though its brain is 20% smaller. [6]
3. Why is it called a turkey vulture? **Its bare red head looks like a wild turkey’s.** The red, featherless head looks like a wild turkey’s. [1]
4. What colour is a young turkey vulture’s head? **Grey.** Juveniles have grey heads and dark bills. [1][2]
5. How does it hold its wings while soaring? **In a shallow V.** A shallow V, often rocking from side to side. [2][1]
6. Why can’t turkey vultures sing? **They have no syrinx, the bird voice box.** Without a syrinx they can only hiss and grunt. [7][5]
7. What does a turkey vulture do to cool down on hot days? **Pees on its own legs.** As it dries, the liquid cools its legs. This is urohidrosis. [3][13]
8. In the 2014 study, about how many kinds of bacteria lived in a vulture’s gut? **About 76.** About 76 in the gut, against about 528 on the face. [11]
9. What are the rising bubbles of warm air they ride called? **Thermals.** Thermals rise from sun-warmed ground. [1]
10. Where does a turkey vulture lay its eggs? **On the bare floor of a cave or hollow log.** Turkey vultures build no nest at all. [2][9][5]
11. Which US law protects turkey vultures? **The Migratory Bird Treaty Act.** They are on the official list of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. [26]
12. The griffon vulture is related more closely to which birds? **Eagles and hawks.** It is an Old World vulture, in the same family as eagles and hawks. [5]

### Sources (checked 2026-10-16)

1. [Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Turkey Vulture (raptor species account).](https://www.hawkmountain.org/raptors/turkey-vulture)
2. [National Audubon Society. Turkey Vulture. Audubon Guide to North American Birds.](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/turkey-vulture)
3. [The Peregrine Fund. Turkey Vulture (species account).](https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/vultures/turkey-vulture)
4. [Ward J, McCafferty DJ, Houston DC, Ruxton GD (2008). Why do vultures have bald heads? The role of postural adjustment and bare skin areas in thermoregulation. Journal of Thermal Biology 33:168–173.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2008.01.002)
5. [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Vulture. Animals and Plants.](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/vulture)
6. [Grigg NP, Krilow JM, Gutierrez-Ibanez C, Wylie DR, Graves GR, Iwaniuk AN (2017). Anatomical evidence for scent guided foraging in the turkey vulture. Scientific Reports 7:17408.](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17794-0)
7. [Missouri Department of Conservation. Turkey Vulture (field guide).](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/turkey-vulture)
8. [The Peregrine Fund. Black Vulture (species account).](https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/vultures/black-vulture)
9. [Farmer A. Cathartes aura (turkey vulture). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cathartes_aura/)
10. [Clark RG, Ohmart RD (1985). Spread-winged posture of Turkey Vultures: single or multiple function? The Condor 87:350–355.](https://doi.org/10.2307/1367215)
11. [Roggenbuck M, Bærholm Schnell I, Blom N, Bælum J, Bertelsen MF, Sicheritz-Pontén T, et al. (2014). The microbiome of New World vultures. Nature Communications 5:5498.](https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6498)
12. [Houston DC, Cooper JE (1975). The digestive tract of the whiteback griffon vulture and its role in disease transmission among wild ungulates. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 11:306–313.](https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-11.3.306)
13. [Cabello-Vergel J, Soriano-Redondo A, Villegas A, Masero JA, Sánchez Guzmán JM, Gutiérrez JS (2021). Urohidrosis as an overlooked cooling mechanism in long-legged birds. Scientific Reports 11.](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99296-8)
14. [Houston DC (1986). Scavenging efficiency of Turkey Vultures in tropical forest. The Condor 88:318–323.](https://doi.org/10.2307/1368878)
15. [Smith SA, Paselk RA (1986). Olfactory sensitivity of the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) to three carrion-associated odorants. The Auk 103:586–592.](https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/103.3.586)
16. [Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Black Vulture (raptor species account).](https://www.hawkmountain.org/raptors/black-vulture)
17. [Mallon JM, Bildstein KL, Katzner TE (2016). In-flight turbulence benefits soaring birds. The Auk 133:79–85.](https://doi.org/10.1642/AUK-15-114.1)
18. [Rader JA, Hedrick TL (2024). Turkey vultures tune their airspeed to changing air density. Journal of Experimental Biology 227:jeb246828.](https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246828)
19. [Mandel JT, Bildstein KL, Bohrer G, Winkler DW (2008). Movement ecology of migration in turkey vultures. PNAS 105:19102–19107.](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801789105)
20. [Dodge S, Bohrer G, Bildstein K, Davidson SC, Weinzierl R, Bechard MJ, et al. (2014). Environmental drivers of variability in the movement ecology of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) in North and South America. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 369:20130195.](https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0195)
21. [Animal Diversity Web. Coragyps atratus (black vulture). University of Michigan.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Coragyps_atratus/)
22. [Wikidata: Turkey vulture (Q245181), IUCN status Least Concern (P141)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q245181)
23. [Wikidata: Black vulture (Q213366), IUCN status Least Concern (P141)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213366)
24. [Wikidata: Griffon vulture (Q177856), IUCN status Least Concern (P141)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q177856)
25. [Behmke S, Fallon J, Duerr AE, Lehner A, Buchweitz J, Katzner T (2015). Chronic lead exposure is epidemic in obligate scavenger populations in eastern North America. Environment International 79:51–55.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.03.010)
26. [US Code of Federal Regulations, 50 CFR 10.13: List of Migratory Birds (2023 edition).](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2023-title50-vol1/xml/CFR-2023-title50-vol1-sec10-13.xml)

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 64-81 cm
- **Wingspan:** 160-200 cm
- **Weight:** 0.85-2 kg
- **Lifespan:** 15-30 years
- **Clutch Size:** 1-3
- **Incubation:** 30-41 days
- **Migration Distance:** 5000 km

## Diet & Feeding

Vultures are nature's clean-up crew, eating mostly dead animals to keep ecosystems healthy.

- **Primary Foods:** Carrion (dead animals), Dead mammals, Dead reptiles, Dead fish
- **Foraging Method:** Scavenging

## Ecological connections

- **Eats:** [White-tailed Deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-tailed-deer) (*Odocoileus virginianus*) — Eats deer carcasses, which helps limit the spread of some diseases.
- **Eats:** [Cattle](https://www.snappit.app/explore/cattle) (*Bos taurus*) — Feeds on dead livestock, benefiting agricultural areas.

## Traits

- [Wildlife](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/wildlife): Wildlife encompasses all undomesticated animal and plant life existing in their natural habitats.
- [Feathered](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/feathered): Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.
- [Aerial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/aerial): Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.
- [Scavenger](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/scavenger): Scavengers consume dead organic matter, helping to decompose carcasses and other waste in the ecosystem.
- [Gliding](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/gliding): Gliding animals move through the air by launching themselves and maintaining flight with specialized body structures, without flapping wings.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.
- [Carnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/carnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue.

## Collections

- [Birds](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/birds)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Vultures are not dangerous to people, but watch them from a distance and never touch one. If you find a hurt bird, tell an adult.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Turkey vulture?

Compare the silhouette, bill shape, tail length, wing bars and markings around the eyes. The same small brown bird at your feeder can look quite different in breeding plumage, winter plumage or its first year. Bird Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Turkey vulture?

64-81 cm

### What is Turkey vulture's wingspan?

160-200 cm

### How much does Turkey vulture weigh?

0.85-2 kg

### How long does Turkey vulture live?

15-30 years

### What does Turkey vulture eat?

Vultures are nature's clean-up crew, eating mostly dead animals to keep ecosystems healthy.

### Where is Turkey vulture usually found?

Various habitats including forests, grasslands, and deserts

## Where to spot

- [Albany Pine Bush](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/albany-pine-bush) — New York, US · Nature Reserve
- [Ambler Heights Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/ambler-heights-historic-district) — Ohio, US · Historic District
- [American Baptist College](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/american-baptist-college) — Tennessee, US · Campus
- [Ames Nowell State Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/ames-nowell-state-park) — Massachusetts, US · State Park
- [Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/armstrong-redwoods-state-natural-reserve) — California, US · State Park
- [Arroyo Conejo Open Space](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/arroyo-conejo-open-space) — California, US · Park

[View all places to see Vulture](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/vulture)

## More Birds

- [Black-crowned Night Heron](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-crowned-night-heron) (*Nycticorax nycticorax*)
- [Anna's Hummingbird](https://www.snappit.app/explore/annas-hummingbird) (*Calypte anna*)
- [Great Egret](https://www.snappit.app/explore/great-egret) (*Ardea alba*)
- [Blue Jay](https://www.snappit.app/explore/blue-jay) (*Cyanocitta cristata*)

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Source: [Turkey vulture: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/vulture)