Chris Sokol
People mistakenly call turkey vultures “buzzards,” which is the British term for certain hawks. A few facts about turkey vultures:
- The naked red head of an adult resembles that of a turkey, thus the name turkey vulture. Their head is without feathers so pieces of carrion do not stick to it as they would to feathers.
- Vultures help clean up the environment by eating the flesh of dead animals before it rots and spreads various diseases. They feed by thrusting their head into a cavity of a dead animal.
- Turkey vultures prefer meat as fresh as possible and won’t eat meat past 12 to 24 hours old. They also cannot smell meat that is older than 24 hours.
- They have the largest olfactory (smelling) system of all birds and can smell carrion that is up to a mile away.
- Turkey vultures are the only scavenger birds that can’t kill their prey.
- The turkey vulture is related to the stork, not a bird of prey.
- Their feet are more like that of a chicken versus a hawk. They do not use their feet for gripping, rather they have a powerful beak which is used for ripping into flesh.
- Turkey vultures have a 6 foot wing span, are about 2-1/2 feet tall but only weigh about 3 pounds.
- Turkey vultures can live up to 24 years old but average about 20 years.
- The turkey vulture maintains stability and lift at low altitudes by holding its wings up in a slight dihedral (Vshape) and teetering from side to side while flying.
- They can travel up to 200 miles a day.
- Their scientific name in Latin means “cleansing breeze”.
- A group of vultures is called a “Venue.” Vultures circling on thermals of hot air are also referred to as a “Kettle” because they resemble the rising bubbles in a boiling pot of water.
- When turkey vultures arrive here in early spring, they’re a welcome sign that winter is over.
- In the morning you may see them sunbathing in a tree with their wings spread out to increase their body temperature.