(Credit: U. S. Geological Survey)

Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura

Identification Tips:

  1. Length: 25 inches Wingspan: 72 inches
  2. Sexes similar
  3. Very large, broad-winged, soaring bird
  4. Long and rounded tail
  5. Longish, hooked bill
  6. Rather short, thick legs
  7. Holds wings in a dihedral angle while soaring and gliding
  8. Spends most time soaring, infrequent flaps are slow and laborious
  9. Small, unfeathered head
  10. Plumage dark brown except for paler flight feathers, appearing black and gray
  11. Immature like adult

Adult:

  1. Red head
  2. Yellowish bill
  3. Reddish legs

Immature:

  1. Gray head
  2. Gray bill
  3. Gray legs

Similar species:

The Black Vulture is also dark with an unfeathered head, but has a much differet shape in flight. It is short-winged, short-tailed, and intersperses glides on flat wings with quick, snappy wingbeats. Turkey Vultures lack the white patch at the wingtips and show contrast between paler flight feathers and darker coverts. Bald and Golden eagles are both superficially similar, but fly on flat wings, have feathered heads, and do not have contrastingly gray flight feathers. The Zone-tailed Hawk in the Southwest has a similar shape and flight style, but has a feathered head and white bands on a black tail.