Arizona Highways Online
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura
By Kathryn Eastlick
Most people love to hate the turkey vulture. The ugly mug, the awkward gait, the fondness for dead things – what’s to like? Cast as the shunned nerd of the bird world, the turkey vulture has not rejected its role but embraced it. A consummate actor, the turkey vulture plays dead when it feels threatened. Even researchers have been fooled by the act, transporting what they thought was a limp, lifeless turkey vulture until they noticed the bird’s keen eyes watching them.
Turkey vultures have also earned their repugnant reputation because of their habit of regurgitating their food to feed their young or distract their enemies. They may live a lonely existence, but the buzzards make up for it by forming strong family ties. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs, and even after the chicks can fend for themselves and find mates of their own, turkey vultures will often continue living as an extended family.
If turkey vultures aren’t generally loved and adored like some of the more attractive members of avian society, the wary know not to bully them. With a five-to six-foot wingspan and 32-inch body length, the turkey vulture is one of the largest raptors in the world. These birds can soar 15,000 feet in the air and reach speeds of almost 35 miles per hour. Rarely flapping their massive wings, turkey vultures glide on thermals – columns of warm, buoyant air rising from the surface layer of the atmosphere – which help loft the birds to great heights. A turkey vulture can often be spotted teetering on the crest of a wind gust like an expert surfer.
Circling above, the vultures use their superior eyesight and sense of smell to locate animal carcasses, their dinner of choice. People may wrinkle their noses at the turkey vulture’s fondness for road kill, but the raptors don’t feed on carrion because of a twisted personality. Turkey vultures have sharp talons but small, weak feet, which make grabbing and hauling prey very difficult, so serving as nature’s cleanup crew works best. Occasionally, these vultures will snack on young animals, but overall they prefer the tried and true method of scavenging. And they’re not picky. When a turkey vulture discovers a carcass with a hide too tough to tear, it will patiently wait until a larger scavenger comes along and starts the job. After the other predator leaves, the turkey vulture will happily content itself with the leftovers.
That bald head may be ugly, red and mottled, but poking a feather-covered head into a carcass would cover the turkey vulture in potentially harmful bacteria. As it is, the bird has an ironclad digestive system, immune to the botulism found in decaying animal tissue. Luckily, lady turkey vultures find that big brown body and tiny bald head attractive. Males and females affectionately nibble at each others heads during mating.
Although disliked by many, these buzzards do have one claim to fame. They helped pave the way to modern aviation. After carefully observing turkey vultures glide masterfully through the air, the Wright Brothers designed their first planes using this baldheaded, vomiting buzzard as inspiration.
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