What Do Turkey Vultures Eat? A Look at the Feeding Habits of These Essential Scavengers

Look for Turkey Vultures as they cruise open areas including mixed farmland, forest, and rangeland. They are particularly noticeable along roadsides and at landfills. At night, they roost in trees, on rocks, and other high secluded spots. Back to top

Turkey Vultures eat carrion, which they find largely by their excellent sense of smell. Mostly they eat mammals but are not above snacking on reptiles, other birds, amphibians, fish, and even invertebrates. They prefer freshly dead animals, but often have to wait for their meal to soften in order to pierce the skin. They are deft foragers, targeting the softest bits first and are even known to leave aside the scent glands of dead skunks. Thankfully for them, vultures appear to have excellent immune systems, happily feasting on carcasses without contracting botulism, anthrax, cholera, or salmonella. Unlike their Black Vulture relatives, Turkey Vultures almost never attack living prey.Back to top

Turkey Vultures nest in rock crevices, caves, ledges, thickets, mammal burrows and hollow logs, fallen trees, abandoned hawk or heron nests, and abandoned buildings. These nest sites are typically much cooler (by 13°F or more) than surroundings, and isolated from human traffic or disturbance. While they often feed near humans, Turkey Vultures prefer to nest far away from civilization.

Turkey Vultures don’t build full nests. They may scrape out a spot in the soil or leaf litter, pull aside obstacles, or arrange scraps of vegetation or rotting wood. Once found, many of these nest sites may be used repeatedly for a decade or more.

The Turkey Vultures distinctive slow, teetering flight style probably helps the bird soar at low altitudes, where it is best able to use its nose to find carrion. At other times they may soar high on thermals and form mixed flocks or kettles. On the ground they move with ungainly hops and are less agile than Black Vultures. Often, especially in the morning, they can be seen standing erect, wings spread in the sun, presumably to warm up, cool off, or dry off. Outside of the breeding season, Turkey Vultures form roosts of dozens to a hundred individuals. When Turkey Vultures court, pairs perform a “follow flight” display where one bird leads the other through twisting, turning, and flapping flights for a minute or so, repeated over periods as long as 3 hours. Migrating flocks can number in the thousands. At carcasses, several Turkey Vultures may gather but typically only one feeds at a time, chasing the others off and making them wait their turn. Despite their size, Turkey Vultures are often driven off by smaller Black Vultures, Crested Caracaras, Zone-tailed Hawks, and other species.Back to top

Turkey Vultures increased in number across North America approximately 1.8% per year from 1966 to 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 28 million and rates them 5 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern. These birds were threatened by side-effects of the pesticide DDT, but today they are among the most common large carnivorous birds in North America. However, because they live on rotting meat, like California Condors, they can fall victim to poisons or lead in dead animals. The main concern is lead shot that ends up in carcasses or gut piles left by hunters. The animals eat the shot and eventually suffer lead poisoning. Other threats include trapping and killing due to erroneous fears that they spread disease. Far from it, vultures actually reduce the spread of disease.

Kirk, David A. and Michael J. Mossman. (1998). Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.

Lutmerding, J. A. and A. S. Love. (2020). Longevity records of North American birds. Version 2020. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2020.

Sauer, J. R., D. K. Niven, J. E. Hines, D. J. Ziolkowski Jr., K. L. Pardieck, J. E. Fallon, and W. A. Link (2019). The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966–2019. Version 2.07.2019. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA.

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.

Turkey vultures are a common sight in many parts of North America. With their large, distinctive shadows and effortless soaring flight, these birds are easy to identify. But what do turkey vultures actually eat? As it turns out, the feeding habits of turkey vultures play an important ecological role.

An Overview of Turkey Vulture Diet

Turkey vultures are obligate scavengers, meaning they eat only carrion – the decaying flesh of dead animals. Unlike eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey, turkey vultures do not have strong talons for grabbing live prey or tearing open fresh carcasses. Instead, their diet consists almost exclusively of carrion that has begun decomposing.

Carrion provides turkey vultures with a feast of rotten meat crawling with maggots and other microbes that help break down tissue Turkey vultures have very strong stomach acid to help them digest this meat safely, Their bald heads also help them avoid getting too dirty while feasting,

Carrion – The Mainstay of the Turkey Vulture Diet

The most common food sources for turkey vultures are dead mammals and birds Turkey vultures will scavenge any species they can find, including

White-tailed deer
Raccoons
Opossums
Squirrels
Rabbits
Chipmunks
Mice
Rats
Birds of all types

Turkey vultures use their excellent sense of smell to locate carcasses from great distances. They also watch for other vultures and scavengers circling in the sky, which signals a potential meal.

Once multiple turkey vultures arrive at a carcass, they establish a feeding order based on dominance. More dominant birds feed first while others wait their turn. Turkey vultures usually feed starting with the softest parts like the eyes, tongue, and internal organs.

Other Food Sources

In addition to wild animal carcasses, turkey vultures will readily eat

Livestock carcasses from farms
Roadkill along highways
Dead fish or marine animals that wash ashore
Scraps from slaughterhouses or butcher shops

Turkey vultures in more urban areas also scavenge through garbage dumps and landfills. They consume spoiled meat, fats, and other food waste discarded by humans. Their stomach acid allows them to digest even rancid, rotting meat that most other animals couldn’t stomach.

Rare Cases of Hunting Small Prey

While turkey vultures eat carrion almost exclusively, they occasionally prey on small, vulnerable animals. Baby birds and rabbits, rodents, reptiles, and even fish and eggs have been recorded as prey. However, these cases are very rare, as turkey vultures lack the necessary talons to regularly hunt and kill prey.

In some reports of turkey vultures eating live animals, they were likely misidentified black vultures. Black vultures look very similar but actively hunt and kill small prey much more often than turkey vultures do.

Why Do Turkey Vultures Eat Only Carrion?

Several key adaptations make turkey vultures reliant on scavenging carrion:

Weak talons – Their feet are not equipped for grasping and killing prey. Turkeys vultures have relatively weak toes and talons compared to true predatory birds.
Weak beak – While they have a sharp, hooked beak for tearing meat, it is not powerful enough to tear open fresh hides and carcasses.
Soaring flight – Turkey vultures are optimized for soaring high in the air and detecting carcasses through smell. They cannot dive swiftly to ambush prey like hawks or eagles.
Strong stomach acid – Their digestive system has adapted to safely consume rancid, rotten meat containing microbes that would sicken most other animals.

The Crucial Role of Turkey Vultures as Scavengers

As unattractive as their eating habits may seem, turkey vultures provide an essential ecological service as nature’s cleanup crew. By quickly consuming dead animal remains, they:

Prevent the spread of diseases by removing decaying carcasses that could harbor bacteria and parasites.
Dispose of potential environmental contaminants and health hazards. Rotting carcasses can pollute groundwater and lead to other contamination issues.
Recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. Turkey vultures release nutrient-rich urea and feces after digesting carrion. This fertilizes soils and plants.
Limit populations of pest species like rats, mice, and opossums that compete with native wildlife in some regions. By eating carcasses quickly, turkey vultures reduce this food source for opportunistic scavengers.

So while turkey vultures have a stomach-churning diet, their specialized role as carrion feeders is critically important for many ecosystems. By understanding what turkey vultures eat and why they eat it, we can better appreciate the value of these unusual but vital birds.

what do turkey vultures eat

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The Turkey Vulture: Everything You Need To Know | Eating, Sound/Call, Hiss, Flying, Habitat, Attacks

FAQ

What is a turkey vultures favorite food?

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.

Are turkey vultures bad to have around?

In fact, vultures do us a favor by cleaning up toxic carcasses so that harmful bacteria won’t spread to humans or other animals. After tromping around atop a decomposing corpse, a turkey vulture will often urinate down its legs, an activity known as urohydrosis.

Do turkey vultures eat squirrels?

Though the vultures prefer to feed on medium to large animals, such as deer or sheep, they can be found in roads feeding on road-killed animals as small as squirrels and lizards. When searching for a meal, they often fly low over an area, using their sight and acute sense of smell to find food.

How aggressive are turkey vultures?

It’s heightened ability to detect odors allows it to find dead animals below a forest canopy. Behavior: The Turkey Vulture is gentle and non-aggressive. They are usually found in large groups, venturing out independently during the day to forage for food.