Hawk-like Birds
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Description
25-32" (64-81 cm). W. 6' (1.8 m).
Eagle-sized blackish bird, usually seen soaring over the
countryside. In flight, the long wings are held upward in a wide,
shallow V; flight feathers silvery below. Tail long; head small,
bare, and reddish; gray in immatures. Similar to Black Vulture, but
wings narrower; flaps wings less frequently and rolls and sways from
side to side.
Voice
Usually silent; hisses or grunts when
feeding or at nest.
Habitat
Mainly deciduous forests and woodlands;
often seen over adjacent farmlands.
Nesting
2 whitish eggs, heavily marked with dark
brown, placed without nest or lining in a crevice in rocks, in a
hollow tree, or in a fallen hollow log.
Range
Breeds from southern British Columbia,
central Saskatchewan, Great Lakes, and New Hampshire southward.
Winters in Southwest, and in East northward to southern New
England.
Discussion
The most common and widespread of the
New World vultures, this species nests throughout all of the United
States except northern New England. Soaring for hours over woodland
and nearby open country, the Turkey Vulture searches for carcasses,
locating them at least partly by means of its acute sense of smell.
As they soar, these "buzzards" ride on rising columns of warm air
called thermals to save energy as they cover miles of territory. The
importance of this energy saving is clear from the fact that we
seldom see a Turkey Vulture on a windless day, when thermals do not
form. Turkey Vultures are valuable for their removal of garbage and
disease-causing carrion. At night they often gather in large
roosts.
Hawk-like Birds