Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture, along with the Black Vulture, are the two most common vultures in North America.  They are both large birds with the Black Vulture being the smaller of the two.  With their wing span of five to six feet, these birds are often mistaken for eagles.  Vultures have small heads that are devoid of feathers which helps to keep their heads clean when they feed on rotting carcasses.

The Vulture's bill is sharply hooked but instead of using its bill to capture prey it uses it to tear apart decaying bodies of its prey.  Vultures have a good sense of smell, unusual for many birds, which helps them locate carrion from great distances.  Road kills have become a significant part of their diet.

The head of the Turkey Vulture is red in color, whereas the Black Vulture's is dark-gray.  In soaring flight, the Turkey Vulture keeps its wings at an angle to its body making it appear like the letter "V" from the ground.  The Turkey Vulture also tips from side to side in flight so the "V" is quite evident.    The Black Vulture keeps it wings parallel to the ground, presenting a straight line from wing tip to wing tip.  In flight the tail of the Black Vulture is very short and squared off at the end.  Its legs stretch back to the end of its tail.  This characteristic is never true of the Turkey Vulture.  In the picture to the left, the Turkey Vulture is second from the top in full flight and the full picture.

Wing patterns are also used to differentiate the two birds.  The Black's shorter wings have white patches at the ends, whereas the Turkey Vulture has light patterns on the entire trailing edge of the wings from the primaries to the body.  Both species are prevalent during the winter with more joining them over the winter months.

Both vultures are communal on the their roosting habits and you may find whole trees full of these birds in the early morning before the warm air thermals take them way to feed.  The Turkey Vulture is common over the southwest but the Black is only sporadically found.

This information taken from Favorite Birds of the Southwest by Dick Schnikel and David Mohrhardt.

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Last modified: July 06, 2005