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Project Noah Nature School
Cathartes Aura
These birds probe the ground by soring high up in the sky looking for dead or dying animals, they are huge with a large wing span. They have a hawk like body but they dont have feathers on their heads.
Desert, wooded, and plains areas, they also are live in urban areas.
Spotted on Jan 10, 2013
Submitted on Jan 21, 2013
2 Comments
I am so sorry Christy about responding to you so late but I would like to thank you for being one of the first people to respond when I first started out on this site. I love all animals no matter how creepy, no matter how cute and Turkey vultures may not be winning a beauty pageant anytime soon I do agree that they help after that insightful note that you sent me back at that time. keep up the good work.
Great capture, ZooNerd!! Turkey Vultures are one of my favorite animals! The can actually smell rotting animals from miles away - they are one of the few birds of prey that has a really good sense of smell. In the west, if there is a gas leak in one of the pipelines, the gas companies will infuse the gas with the stench of rotting meat and wait for the turkey vultures to find the leak! Pretty amazing animal!!