Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
The turkey vulture, also referred to as the turkey buzzard in some North American regions, is the most widespread of the New World vultures. It is not closely related to Old World vultures of Europe, Africa and Asia. Turkey vultures Everglades use columns of rising air (thermals) to fly, flapping their wings infrequently.
Turkey Vultures Everglades Habitat
The turkey vulture has a large range, found from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas including subtropical forests, grasslands, shrublands, pastures, foothills, wetlands and deserts. Turkey vultures are known for roosting in large communities, nesting in caves, hollow trees or thickets. This habitat is widely experienced on our most popular Everglades airboat tour, group airboat tour, private airboat tour, or Miami airboat tour.
Size & Appearance
Turkey vultures are large birds with featherless heads and pale beaks. Their wingspans range between 63 and 72 inches and their body lengths between 24 and 32 inches. They weigh between 1.8 and 5.1 pounds. Birds in the species’ northern limit (including Florida) average larger in size than those found in the neotropics. Their body feathers are mainly brownish-black, but they also have silvery flight feathers on the wings.
Diet
Turkey vultures are scavengers and their diets are almost solely made up of carrion – dead and decaying flesh of animals. They find their food using their keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginning of dead animal’s decay processes. The turkey vulture has very few natural predators and rarely kills its own prey. Their prey and diet are seen widely aboard our Everglades excursion.
Turkey Vultures Everglades Fun Facts
- Turkey vultures sometimes travel up to 200 miles in just one day.
- You can see turkey vultures while passing Vulture Island on one of our exciting airboat tours.
- They are the only scavenger birds that cannot catch and kill their prey also.
- Turkey vultures can live up to 25 years, but typically have a life span of about 20 years.
