Hawk Like

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura
Turkey Vulture thumbnail
Length: 27 in. (69 cm )
Most often seen singly or in small groups soaring high overhead with wings set in a broad, open wing-span and tilting from side to side in the rising thermals, it occurs in a wide variety of habitats but mainly in open country. This vulture feeds only on dead carrion located largely by smell. The adults roost together in the same tree or cliff side each night. The nest is scraped onto a cliff ledge or mouth of a cave.

The four-digit banding code is TUVU.

Male | Oliver Niehuis


Aerial

Agricultural

Chaparral

Cliffs / boulders

Desert

Grasslands

Riparian / River forest

Savanna
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View Citation

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Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Turkey Vulture
  • Author(s): Dr. Biology
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: July 13, 2017
  • Date accessed: March 25, 2024
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/turkey-vulture

APA Style

Dr. Biology. (2017, July 13). Turkey Vulture. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved March 25, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/turkey-vulture

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "Turkey Vulture". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 July, 2017. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/turkey-vulture

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "Turkey Vulture". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 Jul 2017. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 25 Mar 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/turkey-vulture

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
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