The turkey vulture is one of the most common and recognizable birds found across the Americas. But with its bald, red head and scavenging lifestyle, you may wonder why it was named after the more regal wild turkey. As it turns out, there’s a simple explanation for this distinctive name.
The Resemblance Between Turkey Vultures and Wild Turkeys
When European settlers first encountered the turkey vulture, they were immediately struck by the bird’s red head and how much it resembled the head of a male wild turkey.
Male wild turkeys have bright red wattles and caruncles on their head and throat These fleshy growths can become engorged and vividly colored during courtship displays
Just like a male wild turkey puffing up its head, the turkey vulture has a small featherless red head. This distinctive look is why early settlers nicknamed it the turkey buzzard or turkey vulture. The name stuck and became the official common name for this widespread species.
Why Does the Turkey Vulture Have a Bald Head?
Unlike its relative the wild turkey, the turkey vulture doesn’t use its red head for attracting mates. Instead, its bald head serves a practical purpose.
Turkey vultures feed almost exclusively on carrion. They use their keen sense of smell to locate dead animals. Then they descend and use their beak to tear into decaying flesh.
A feathered head would quickly become fouled and matted with blood and gore. The bare head stays clean, helping keep bacteria away from the vulture’s face and eyes.
Interestingly, the turkey vulture isn’t born with a bald head. Chicks have a gray, downy head that becomes featherless as they mature. The bright red color also develops as the birds age.
What Do Turkey Vultures Eat?
As scavengers, turkey vultures have a diet primarily of carrion. They eat animals that have died from various causes, including:
- Disease
- Injury
- Starvation
- Automobile strikes
- Extreme weather
On rare occasions, turkey vultures may kill small, injured, or vulnerable animals. But they do not have the talons or beak to kill healthy prey.
Turkey vultures have a strong sense of smell that helps them find carcasses. They can detect the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas emitted as bodies start to decay. Their broad wingspan allows them to soar low over areas searching for the smell of death.
Once a carcass is located, turkey vultures descend to feed. They use their large, hooked beak to tear open skin and access muscle tissue and organs. Groups of vultures may gather at a large carcass.
Turkey vultures have very strong stomach acid that allows them to digest even diseased or decayed meat. This ability provides an important service of cleaning up carrion that could otherwise spread bacteria and disease.
Interesting Turkey Vulture Facts
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Turkey vultures are found from southern Canada through South America. They are the most widespread New World vulture species.
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They roost communally, sometimes in groups of several hundred vultures. Roosts are often located on dead, leafless trees.
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Turkey vultures mate for life. Both parents share brooding and feeding duties for the one or two chicks.
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Young turkey vultures hiss and regurgitate when threatened in the nest. Adults may also vomit as a defense.
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Turkey vultures sun themselves by spreading their impressive wings. This bakes off bacteria and acts as a thermoregulatory behavior.
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The wingspan ranges from 5–6 feet across. Turkey vultures soar gracefully, tipping from side to side.
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They have just a few hisses and grunts for vocalizations due to a lack of a true voice box.
The Unique Role of the Turkey Vulture
While some people may find vultures disgusting or unappealing, these scavengers provide a valuable ecological service. By quickly dispatching of carcasses, they limit the spread of diseases like rabies and anthrax.
Next time you see a turkey vulture overhead, remember they were named after the wild turkey and appreciate the important job they do in the environment. Their adaptation to a scavenging lifestyle gives them a unique and essential place in natural communities across the Americas.
General InformationTurkey vultures are often referred to by the misnomer “buzzard.” Buzzard is what Europeans called hawks and when early Europeans began to settle in the US, they thought the large birds they saw flying were hawks and called them “buzzards.” This misnomer stuck and still today some people refer to vultures as “buzzards.” Many turkey vultures live in Ohio during the winter but most migrate as far south as South America. Turkey vultures can be found in almost any habitat and are frequently found in groups soaring high above the trees, with their wings outstretched in a “V” shape. Buzzard Day is a tradition celebrated in Hinckley, Ohio each year. According to legend, there was a great Hinckley hunt in the early 1800s where hunters left behind many butchered carcasses and unwanted game. This attracted hundreds of turkey vultures to the area. Legend has it that every spring, hundreds of turkey vultures come back to Hinckley looking for that same large feast they once had many years ago.
Two turkey vultures, Gandalf and Vinnie, reside in the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden (presented by KeyBank) at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Life SpanWild: 8-12 years Captivity: 25-30 years
- Although turkey vultures like to eat carrion, they won’t eat anything that has been dead and rotting for too long. They prefer carcasses that are less than 24 hours old.
- Turkey vultures, as with all birds, have no sweat glands. One way that they maintain cool body temperatures is by urinating down their legs when they are hot. When the urine evaporates, it cools them down; much like perspiration does for humans.
- The feet of a turkey vulture are more like chicken feet than the powerful feet of a hawk or owl. They do have very sharp beaks that help them to rip open prey and defend themselves. Another mechanism of defense they use is vomiting. A turkey vulture will vomit when approached by a predator; the stench of regurgitated carrion often times is enough to scare away a predator.
- Turkey vultures eat mainly mammals but will also eat reptiles, amphibians and other birds.
Creature Feature: Turkey Vulture
FAQ
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