Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture is one of the most widespread raptors in the Americas, ranging from southern Canada to the southern tip of South America. Its bald red head and dark plumage are familiar to most people who spend time outdoors near open country.

In flight, the contrast between the dark leading half of the underwing and the paler, silvery-gray flight feathers is a hallmark field mark, visible even in silhouette.

Because it feeds on carrion and covers large areas while soaring, its large primary and secondary feathers are commonly found on the ground in open habitats.

Shape and Size

Primaries are long, broad, and distinctly fingered at the tips, among the largest flight feathers a person is likely to find from a common raptor; secondaries are also broad and rounded.

Color and Pattern

• Body and covert feathers: uniform blackish-brown, with little sheen
• Flight feathers (primaries and secondaries): pale silvery-gray on the underside, contrasting with dark brown on top
• Tail feathers: blackish-brown, fairly long and squared
• Shafts: pale, often whitish, on the flight feathers

Distinguishing from Similar Species

The combination of large size, blackish-brown body feathers, and pale silvery-gray undersides to the flight feathers is the key clue separating this species from the all-black Black Vulture, whose flight feathers show white only near the wingtip rather than throughout.

Adults are uniformly blackish-brown with a bare red head; sexes look alike. Juveniles have a grayish-black head that darkens and reddens as they mature over the first year or two.

Molt is gradual and occurs mainly outside the breeding season, replacing large flight feathers in sequence over an extended period.

Found across nearly the entire Western Hemisphere, from southern Canada through the United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Tierra del Fuego, in open country, farmland, forest edges, and along roadsides.

Northern populations are migratory, moving south for winter, while populations in warmer regions are largely resident.

Feeds exclusively on carrion, using an exceptional sense of smell to locate carcasses, often being one of the first scavengers on the scene. Soars for long periods with wings held in a shallow V (dihedral), rocking or teetering from side to side.

Nests in caves, hollow logs, or dense thickets rather than building a stick nest. Largely silent, with only hisses and grunts near the nest or carcasses.

A very large blackish-brown feather with a silvery-gray underside, found along a roadside or open field, is a classic Turkey Vulture find.