Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

Photo by Vogelman.

Identification

• Large and black
• Primaries spread during flight (resembling fingers)
• Flight feathers appear silvery below
• Rocking flight with wings held in dihedral (v-shaped)
• Naked pink head

Similar Species

May be confused with Black Vulture. Separating features:

• head: grayish in Black Vulture and red in Turkey (but juvenile Turkey with gray head).
• underwing: Turkey's has pale secondaries and primaries, contrasting with the dark underwing coverts.
• tail: longer in Turkey (make wings appear narrower).

Distribution

North, Central and South America. Breeds in the south of Canada from southern British Columbia to southern Ontario, almost throughout the United States except the far northeast, in Mexico, Central America and the West Indies, and in South America from Colombia and Venezuela south to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands but rare or absent from much of eastern Argentina. Scarce in the far north but increasing and expanding range. A summer visitor to much of North American range but resident further south. Northern birds winter in the southern United States from central California to Florida and southwards.

Taxonomy

Four subspecies recognised:

1. aura from Canada to Costa Rica and Cuba
2. septentrionalis in eastern North America
3. ruficollis in Trinidad and from Panama to northern Argentina
4. jota from Colombia to Patagonia and the Falkland Islands

Habitat

A wide range of habitats from deserts, plains and mountains to forest and jungle.

Behaviour

Often scavenges at refuse-tips and along roadsides and shorelines.

Voice: Hisses and grunts given at the nest

External Links

Search for photos of Turkey Vulture in the gallery