Turkey Vulture

Description:

The turkey vulture's head (like the head of its namesake, the wild turkey) is bald and red. Its plumage is primarily dark brown In flight, the undersides of the wings are two-toned: on the leading edge (the front) of the wing the color appears black or dark brown, and the trailing edge appears silver or whitish Genders appear identical and it is impossible to visually distinguish males from females. There is an important purpose to the vulture's bald head. When the vulture is eating carrion, it must often stick its head inside the carcass to reach the meat. A feathery head would capture unwanted pieces of the vulture's meal (just like food can stick in men's beards), along with all the bacteria such pieces would host. The bald head, ultimately, is a matter of hygiene for vultures. Turkey vultures do not have a voice box and thus have limited vocalization capabilities. They can only utter hisses and grunts. They usually hiss when they feel threatened. Grunts are commonly heard from hungry young, and adults in courtship The Turkey Vulture is gentle and non-aggressive. Turkey Vultures roost in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. These unique birds have a variety of interesting habits The turkey vulture often directs its urine right onto its legs. This process, known as urohydrosis, serves two very important purposes. On warm days, wetting the legs cools the vulture as the urine evaporates. (The vulture cannot sweat like us). In addition, this urine contains strong acids from the vulture's digestive system, which may kill any bacteria that remain on the bird's legs from stepping in its meal.

Habitat:

By far the most widespread of the New World vultures, the turkey vulture can be found throughout the entire continental United States, north into Canada, and south into Central and South America down to Tierra del Fuego, and over to the Falkland Islands. These birds seem to do well in landscapes with a mixture of open and wooded areas, but can be found almost anywhere. They live along coastlines, in deserts, throughout plains, and even in inland tropical forests.

Notes:

Contrary to popular belief, circling vultures do not necessarily indicate the presence of a dead animal. Circling vultures may be gaining altitude for long flights, searching for food, or playing. These birds soar on thermals of warm, rising air. Soaring flight is much more energetically efficient than powered, flapping flight. After rising on the thermal, they glide as far as possible before they need to gain altitude again. They also rely on thermals of warm air, as well as air currents that are deflected upwards off hills, to remain aloft while scanning the ground for food. You will certainly see vultures in the air over a carcass, and they may remain in the air until they feel the situation is safe enough for them to land and begin feeding. The turkey vulture has few natural predators. Interestingly, turkey vultures often vomit when approached or harassed by predators, or when handled by researchers. The birds do not "projectile vomit," as many would claim. But they do indeed vomit when stressed, and this behavior may well have evolved as a means for vultures gorging on a carcass to off-load some weight when predators approach and the vulture has eaten too much to fly. (You can imagine how vultures will want to eat as much as possible, given the unpredictable nature of their food source, while still maintaining flight capabilities.) When turkey vultures vomit they simply cough up a lump of meat that can be fresh (if the vulture just fed) or semi-digested and foul-smelling. Some believe this regurgitant may "gross out" would-be predators, but this may be an explanation based on human sensibilities. More often than not, the regurgitated food may in fact be eaten by the predator, which takes the free meal rather than continuing to pursue the vulture.