Turkey Vultures
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Photo: https://stevecreek.com/turkey-vulture-eating-an-armadillo/
While hanging out with the farm animals this morning, I was thinking about what I wanted to write about today when three Turkey Vultures flew overhead. Don’t worry, they aren’t after out turkeys or any of the other animals on the farm. They are scavengers, looking for prey that is already dead. Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) got their common name because their bald, red head resembles the heads of Turkeys. Although they are not incredibly common in most of Washington, it is considered part of their range in the breeding season.
Many of the unique features that Turkey Vultures have are because they are scavengers. As scavengers, they look for freshly dead animals to eat. Their prey could be left over from another animals kill, road kill, or have died due to natural causes. Dead animal bodies are often called carrion. They tend to only eat carrion that is less that 48 hours old. They find their food by soaring in the sky and using their senses of sight and smell. Typically, birds don’t have a strong sense of smell. Turkey Vultures and other species of vultures are the exception, smelling carrion from over a mile away. Their strong beak helps them tear bits off their food. Because they do not catch and kill their own food, their feet are weaker that a hawk’s or eagle’s. They look more similar to Turkey feet.
Photo: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/turkey-vulture#photo5
Carrion attracts more scavengers than just Turkey Vultures. Many decomposers such as invertebrates and bacteria get to work quickly, breaking down carrion and turning it into soil. Many of these decomposers would make humans and other animals sick. (We refrigerate/ freeze meat so it doesn’t attract the things that make use sick). Turkey Vultures have many defenses against getting sick from their food. Their featherless heads prevent them from having parasites crawling off of their food and on to their heads. They also have an incredibly acidic stomach that helps kill bacteria. Our stomach acid generally has a pH of between 1.5-3.5. It helps us kill many bacteria that may enter our digestive system. The pH of a Turkey Vulture’s stomach is close to 0. This means Turkey Vultures have a stomach that is around 100 times more acidic than ours.
Not only can their stomach acid protect them from bacteria inside their body, it also helps get rid of outside threats. Turkey vultures vomit to protect themselves from threats such as predators. Their vomit has a range of around 10 ft.
Photo: https://freepressonline.com/Content/Columnists/Birding-with-Don-Reimer/Article/Vulture-Venture-/50/100/60909
Turkey Vultures are frequently seen perched with their six-foot, black wings extended. This not only helps them warm up, but it may also be another way to get rid of parasites in their feathers. They expose them to the heat and harmful UV rays of the sun. If a Turkey Vulture gets too warm, it pees on its feet to cool itself off.
Now that you know all of these cool facts about Turkey Vultures, how do yo spot one? What flying, Turkey Vultures have a characteristic shallow “V” shape across their wingspan. Their bodies and front of their wings are black. The wings get lighter towards the tail of the bird. They are a similar size to a Bald Eagle but lack the white head. Instead, look for the small red head of the Turkey Vulture. They also are often seen in small groups where eagles tend to be more solitary. They are fun to watch as they fly circles in the air with rarely having to flap their wings. They use the natural air currents to keep them flying.
