Turkey Vulture

by Rick LoBello, Education Curator

With a face that only a mother could love, the Turkey Vulture is one of the most common large birds living here in our big backyard and the Chihuahuan Desert.

I first came to know Turkey Vultures while I was a graduate student at Sul Ross State University and was on a road trip to Big Bend National Park. As we drove down Texas 118 looking for javelina and mule deer every time we saw a Turkey Vulture someone would call out “TV in the sky.” It was hot day and we didn’t have an air conditioned vehicle. As one of my classmates filled the air with the smell of chewing tobacco, I got a little car sick. Hearing “TV in the sky” over and over and over again made the trip very memorable.

We saw many Turkey Vultures flying overhead and along the road as they fed on road kills including a javelina and some jackrabbits. Turkey Vultures are amazing scavengers that help to keep the desert clean of dead animals. Their featherless red heads may look very strange for a large bird, but are great adaptations for a scavenger needing to keep the blood of dead animals off of it’s feathers.

Hikers often see Turkey Vultures flying overhead along desert trails almost like a warning to be careful or else you might become their next meal. Here in the Chihuahuan Desert I would say that the Turkey Vulture is one of the top three large birds you are likely to see in Big Bend and almost anywhere in the desert along with Common Ravens and Red-tailed Hawks. When hiking in the Chisos Mountains or at Rio Grande Village you might get lucky and see a Zone-tailed Hawk. These extremely rare raptors look very similar in flight to Turkey Vultures and may mimic vultures to help them sneak up on prey that may not normally hide from vultures. Zone-tailed Hawks look so much like Turkey Vultures in flight that many people look up and see them thinking they are seeing vultures.

Zone-tailed Hawk

Turkey Vultures are one of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the same family that Condors are a part of. Ranging from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America, they are large birds with an average wingspan of 65 to 70 inches. California Condors are extinct in our area and are making a comeback in parts of the Southwest. Will they ever return to the skies of West Texas?

Turkey Vulture

One of the best ways to distinguish a Turkey Vulture from other large birds like hawks and eagles to to look for the form of a “V” in their soaring pattern as they hold their wings higher than the rest of their body.

Photos

Cover – David Seibold, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Top – Laura Pontiggia, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Middle – Tom Benson, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Bottom – Dennis Church, Wikimedia Creative Commons