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Scientific name:
Cathartes aura |
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Family name:
Cathartidae
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Are they endangered?
No, they are not threatened worldwide. (IUCN Redlist:
Least concern)
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What are their
past/present problems?
Man is the Turkey Vulture’s main enemy. They get killed
by flying in the path of airplanes. If this happens,
the plane can crash, too. |
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What do they look
like?
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How big are they?
Turkey Vultures are about 25 inches long. If they
stretched out their wings, their wings would be about 5
˝ feet wide. |
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How many eggs do they
lay?
The female lays between 1 and 3 white eggs that hatch in
about 40 days. |
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How long do the
fledglings stay in the nest?
Their nests are in logs, under bushes and in caves. The
young birds (fledglings) stay in the nest for about 10
weeks. |
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When do they hunt?
They hunt during the day. (diurnal) |
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What do they eat?
Turkey Vultures eat animals that are already dead. For this
reason they like to find food along roads where cars have run
over animals. Their beaks are very strong so that they can tear
apart their food. |
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Where do they live?
They live in the Caribbean Islands, Central and South America,
Mexico and the United States. |
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What kind of place do
they like to live in?
Turkey Vultures like grasslands, forests, and farm fields.
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Interesting facts:
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Their bald heads are handy so that when they stick them
in a dead animal, they don’t get their feathers bloody. |
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They don’t feed their babies food that they find. They
eat it first and then upchuck it for their babies. They
will also throw up if they are in danger. |
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Their bodies sterilize the dead food they eat. No
matter what garbage or dead stuff they eat, they stay
healthy. |
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