Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard (or just "buzzard"), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow.[2] One of three species in the genus Cathartes, in the family Cathartidae, the Turkey Vulture is the most widespread of the New World vultures,[3] ranging from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.[1] The Turkey Vulture is a large bird. It has a wingspan of 170–183 cm (67–72 in), a length of 64–81 cm (25–32 in), and weight of 0.85–2.26 kg (1.9–5 lb),[4][5][6][7] It has dark brown to black plumage; a featherless, purplish-red head and neck; and a short, hooked, ivory-colored beak. Its life expectancy in the wild ranges upward of 16 years, with a captive life span of over 20 years being possible.[8]

The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion.[9] It finds its meals using its keen vision and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals.[9] In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.[10] It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets, each year generally raising two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation.[11] It has very few natural predators.[12] In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.[13]

The Turkey Vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult's bald red head and its dark plumage to that of the male Wild Turkey, while the name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus, meaning "tearer," and is a reference to its feeding habits.[14] The word buzzard is used by North Americans to refer to this bird, yet in the Old World this word refers to members of the genus Buteo.[15] The generic term Cathartes means "purifier" and is the Latinized form from the Greek kathart?s/????????.[16] The species name, aura, is Latinized from the Native Mexican word for the bird, auroura.[14] The Turkey Vulture was first formally described by Linnaeus as Vultur aura in his Systema Naturae in 1758, and characterised as V. fuscogriseus, remigibus nigris, rostro albo ("brown-gray vulture, with black wings and a white beak").[17] It is a member of the family Cathartidae, along with the other six species of New World vultures, and included in the genus Cathartes, along with the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture and the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture.

The typical adult Turkey Vulture is from 66–81 cm (26–32 in) long with a 173–183 cm (68–72 in) wingspan and a weight of 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).[4] It displays minimal sexual dimorphism; sexes are identical in plumage and in coloration, although the female is slightly larger.[26] The body feathers are mostly brownish-black, but the flight feathers on the wings appear to be silvery-gray beneath, contrasting with the darker wing linings.[4] The adult's head is small in proportion to its body and is red in color with few to no feathers. It also has a relatively short, hooked, ivory-colored beak.[27] The irises of the eyes are gray-brown; legs and feet are pink-skinned, although typically stained white. The eye has a single incomplete row of eyelashes on the upper lid and two rows on the lower lid.[28]