With their ominous presence and reputation as scavengers turkey vultures seem content to stick to cleaning up carcasses. But contrary to popular belief they don’t rely solely on dead animals and do occasionally hunt live prey. However, the frequency and success rate of these hunts depend on a few key factors.
Turkey Vultures Mainly Scavenge Carrion
Turkey vultures are best known as nature’s cleanup crew. Using their incredibly sharp sense of smell, they can detect ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by decaying animals. This allows them to quickly zero in on rotting carcasses, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem by helping dispose of disease-spreading bodies.
In fact, 90-95% of a turkey vulture’s diet comes from scavenging already dead animals. This can include rodents, reptiles, amphibians and larger mammals that have recently perished. They may also feed on dead fish washed up on shorelines. And thanks to their highly acidic stomachs, turkey vultures can safely digest even rancid, infected meat that could sicken other animals.
Occasional Hunting Does Happen
Although scavenging carrion makes up the huge bulk of their nutritional intake, turkey vultures aren’t completely averse to hunting live prey.
It’s estimated that around 5-10% of their diet may come from actively killing small animals. Juvenile, sick or injured animals are more likely targets for turkey vultures. Documented cases of live prey include:
- Young rabbits and hares
- Squirrels
- Mice
- Lizards
- Snakes
- Small birds like quail
Turkey vultures dispatch these prey using their talons and sharp beaks. They may also regurgitate foul-smelling stomach acid to repel potential threats during the hunt.
Why Turkey Vultures Don’t Rely on Hunting
There are a few key reasons why turkey vultures stick mainly to scavenging:
-
Energy conservation – It takes significantly more energy and effort to hunt and kill agile, healthy prey versus feeding on an immobile carcass. Turkey vultures conserve their energy since carrion is much easier.
-
Weak talons – A turkey vulture’s talons are relatively weak compared to more powerful birds of prey like eagles, hawks and falcons that regularly hunt live animals. Their talons are better adapted for clinging to carcasses than gripping writhing prey.
-
Lightning-fast flight – Turkey vultures prefer to expend energy efficiently. Their light, lanky frames allow these expert soarers to stay aloft and cover vast distances with minimal effort as they search for carrion. But this comes at the cost of swift maneuverability required for active hunting.
Turkey Vultures Play A Crucial Role
While turkey vultures do occasionally snack on live critters, they are far more valuable as nature’s cleanup crew, quickly locating and consuming animal remains that could otherwise spread bacteria and disease. So give them a break for not being the most ferocious hunters – they provide an indispensable service to the ecosystem!
15 Interesting Facts About Turkey Vultures
>> The turkey vulture is related to the stork, not to any birds of prey.
>> Their scientific name in Latin means “cleansing breeze.”
>> Like all other vultures, the turkey vulture has a bald head. This is so that bits of carrion (dead meat) do not adhere to the skin as they would to feathers. At close range the naked red heads of the adult turkey vultures resemble those of turkeys, hence the name.
>> Turkey vultures are the only scavenger birds that can’t kill their prey.
>> A close inspection of their feet reminds one of a chicken instead of a hawk or an eagle. Their feet are useless for ripping into prey, but the vultures have powerful beaks that can tear through even the toughest cow hide.
>> They feed by thrusting their heads into the body cavities of rotting animals.
>> Turkey vultures have an extraordinary sense of smell. They have been known to be able to smell carrion from over a mile away, which is very unique in the bird world. The turkey vulture has the largest olfactory (smelling) system of all birds.
>> Vultures prefer meat as fresh as possible and won’t eat extremely rotted carcasses. They can smell carrion only 12-24 hours old.
>> In the early morning hours you may see turkey vultures sunbathing in a tree with their wings spread out. This is done to increase their body temperature after the cool night.
>> When you see turkey vultures swarming around in a cluster in the early morning hours of early spring or fall, they are preparing to continue on their migration. Vultures seen in the evening hours have probably arrived in the area that day and are preparing to roost for the night.
>> Researchers have determined that turkey vultures can travel at up to 200 miles in a day.
>> Turkey vultures average 2 1/2 feet tall with a 6 foot wingspan. In spite of their large size, they only weigh about 3 pounds.
>> People will often mistakenly call turkey vultures, buzzards, which is the British name for certain hawks.
>> Turkey vultures have been known to live up to 24 years. The average age is estimated to be around 20 years.
>> Vultures help clean up the environment by eating the flesh off dead animals before it rots and causes disease.
Wingspan 6 feet; length, 27 inches. Brownish/black body, the featherless head is black in immature birds, red in adults. Wings are held in a V when soaring, unlike eagles which hold their wings straight out. Birds rock or appear unsteady in flight.
Southern Canada through South America. Migrates to the southern U.S. in the winter.
Open country, roosts in large congregations in secluded woods.
Usually on the ground under cover, sometimes in caves. Lays 2 eggs.
Turkey vultures feed on carrion, which they locate by smell or possibly vision. They are often seen feeding in groups on large items but will eat almost anything.
Considered common in its range, this bird is afforded no special conservation status.
Harvest on the Hooch ApplicationName
- Name* First Last
- Zip Code*
- Email*
- Please select your area of interest*
- Camp
- Education
- Horticulture
- Concerts and Evening Events
- Venue Rentals
- Wildlife
- CAPTCHA
- PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name
Turkey Vulture Snatches Kid In Montreal
FAQ
Do turkey vultures hunt squirrels?
Do turkey vultures eat small dogs?
How aggressive are turkey vultures?
Do turkey vultures carry prey?
What is a turkey vulture?
The turkey vulture was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus as Vultur aura in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and characterised as ” V. fuscogriseus, remigibus nigris, rostro albo ” (“brown-gray vulture, with black wing flight feathers and a white beak”). [ 11]
Are turkey vultures in your backyard?
However, they are not likely to be in your backyard unless something has died or else you have a very large backyard. The Turkey Vulture uses its sense of smell to locate carrion. The part of its brain responsible for processing smells is particularly large, compared to other birds.
Why are turkey vultures so popular?
That sense of smell and the superior ability to find food in closed-canopy forests and jungles (unlike the black and many other vultures, which cannot see carrion in those situations), “has likely contributed to the turkey vulture having the most widespread distribution of any vulture species in the world,” say Graves.
Do turkey vultures scavenge?
Overall, turkey vultures are highly specialized for scavenging and do not have the necessary adaptations for more active predation on live animals. They may opportunistically feed on smaller living animals that are already weak, vulnerable or dying, but they do not hunt mobile, healthy animals.