Turkey Vulture: how to recognise it
A bird of North America and South America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Seig · CC BY · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Cathartes aura
- Family
- New World Vultures
- Size
- About 70 cm
- Habitat
- Open country
- Found in
- North America and South America
The key marks
A bare red head, two-toned wings (silver rear half) and a teetering flight with the wings in a V. Black Vulture has a black head and a short tail, with white wingtips.
Voice
Mostly silent; it hisses.
Good to know
It finds carrion by smell.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Black Vulture. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open country. It is especially common in Mexico, Chile, the United States and Texas. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.