---
title: "What the sources say about the Turkey Vulture | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "47 claims from the Turkey Vulture profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/turkey-vulture/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Turkey Vulture (*Cathartes aura*)

> 47 claims from the Turkey Vulture profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Turkey Vulture](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/turkey-vulture/)

## Cathartes aura. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22697627A131941613.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22697627a131941613.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern. | Least Concern (note: assessed 2018; category read via GBIF's copy of the Red List) |

## Kirk et al. (2024). Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). Birds of the World.

https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.turvul.02

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Open country from southern Canada to southernmost South America | breeds from southern Canada to southernmost South America (note: stats.habitat) |
| Open country from southern Canada to southernmost South America | particularly common in open country such as farmland (note: stats.habitat) |
| Finds carrion by smell, even beneath forest canopy | enables individuals to locate concealed carcasses beneath vegetative cover, including forest canopies (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its highly developed olfactory sense (the sense of smell) lets it find concealed carcasses beneath forest canopies. | The highly developed olfactory sense of the Turkey Vulture enables individuals to locate concealed carcasses beneath vegetative cover, including forest canopies. |
| Black vultures often follow turkey vultures to food and sometimes crowd them off a carcass through sheer numbers. | The Black Vulture often follows the Turkey Vulture to food and sometimes displace them at carcasses through sheer numbers |
| The species breeds from southern Canada to southernmost South America. | breeds from southern Canada to southernmost South America |
| Birds of the World calls it the most migratory and widely distributed vulture in the Americas. | the most migratory and widely distributed vulture in the Americas |
| Turkey vultures nest in dark recesses beneath boulders, on cliff ledges, and in caves and hollow trees. | nests in dark recesses beneath boulders, on cliff ledges, and in caves, hollow trees |
| Many do. Birds of the World says three North American subspecies are partly migratory, and millions of the western one, meridionalis, fly to Central and South America. | Three North American subspecies are partly migratory, with millions of the western subspecies, meridionalis , migrating to Central and South America |
| At least some populations in temperate South America head north for the austral winter. | At least some populations of temperate South American subspecies migrate northward to temperate or tropical sites for the austral winter. |

## Mandel et al. (2008). Movement ecology of migration in turkey vultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801789105

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| One vulture wore a heart-rate logger for 124 hours of flight over 38 days. | A turkey vulture fitted with a heart-rate logger during 124 h of flight during 38 contiguous days |
| Its heart rate rose only a little as its daily distance grew, which suggests soaring does not greatly increase the energy cost of flight. | showed only a small increase in mean heart rate as distance traveled per day increased, which suggests that, unlike flapping, soaring flight does not lead to greatly increased metabolic costs |
| A turkey vulture is more buoyant than other vultures, and a heart-rate logger showed soaring barely raised its heart rate | A turkey vulture fitted with a heart-rate logger during 124 h of flight during 38 contiguous days (note: vibe.reason) |
| A turkey vulture is more buoyant than other vultures, and a heart-rate logger showed soaring barely raised its heart rate | showed only a small increase in mean heart rate as distance traveled per day increased, which suggests that, unlike flapping, soaring flight does not lead to greatly increased metabolic costs (note: vibe.reason) |

## Bohrer et al. (2011). Estimating updraft velocity components over large spatial scales: contrasting migration strategies of golden eagles and turkey vultures. Ecology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01713.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A scavenger with a real nose, and a habit of riding warm air. | turkey vultures nearly exclusively used thermal lift (note: tagline) |
| A GPS tracking study found that turkey vultures nearly exclusively used thermal lift on autumn migration across eastern North America. | turkey vultures nearly exclusively used thermal lift, whereas golden eagles primarily use orographic lift during migration |
| A GPS tracking study found that turkey vultures nearly exclusively used thermal lift on autumn migration across eastern North America. | during autumn migration across eastern North America tracked using GPS tags |

## Cathartes aura. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cathartes_aura/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A scavenger with a real nose, and a habit of riding warm air. | Turkey vultures have a well-developed sense of smell and are one of the only species of birds worldwide that uses smell extensively. (note: tagline, with the thermal claim below) |
| Animal Diversity Web counts the turkey vulture among the only bird species worldwide that uses smell extensively. | one of the only species of birds worldwide that uses smell extensively |
| A turkey vulture is 64 to 81 cm long | Range length 64 to 81 cm |
| with a wingspan of 170 to 183 cm | Range wingspan 170 to 183 cm |
| It weighs 0.85 to 2 kg, depending on the subspecies. | Depending on the subspecies, turkey vultures vary from 0.85 to 2 kg |
| Its wings carry little weight for their surface area, which makes it more buoyant than other vultures and better at using thermals, columns of rising warm air. | Based on their wing surface to weight ratio, turkey vultures have light wing loading. This makes them more buoyant in air than other vultures and better able to utilize thermals (note: 'columns of rising warm air' is the page's gloss of a thermal, not quoted) |
| It cannot get through the thick skin of larger animals, so it waits for some decay to open up the body cavity. | cannot get through the thick skin of larger animals, so must wait for some decay to enable entering body cavities |
| The bird defends itself by regurgitating semi-digested meat, and the putrid smell deters most attackers. | they are known for their defense mechanism of regurgitating semi-digested meat--which deters most predators due to its putrid smell |
| Yes, and that is rare for a bird. Animal Diversity Web calls it one of the few bird species with an acute sense of smell. | They are one of the few bird species that has an acute sense of smell. |
| It pairs that nose with its eyesight to locate carcasses. | They use their keen sense of smell and their vision to locate carcasses. |
| It throws up. | regurgitating semi-digested meat |
| Animal Diversity Web gives a wingspan of 170 to 183 cm on a body 64 to 81 cm long. | Range wingspan 170 to 183 cm |
| Animal Diversity Web gives a wingspan of 170 to 183 cm on a body 64 to 81 cm long. | Range length 64 to 81 cm |
| Weight varies by subspecies, from 0.85 to 2 kg. | Depending on the subspecies, turkey vultures vary from 0.85 to 2 kg |
| Animal Diversity Web describes the defence as regurgitating semi-digested meat, and its putrid smell is enough to deter most predators. | regurgitating semi-digested meat--which deters most predators due to its putrid smell |
| It has few natural predators, though owls sometimes take young and adults. | Young and adults are sometimes preyed on by owls. Although turkey vultures have few natural predators |
| A turkey vulture is more buoyant than other vultures, and a heart-rate logger showed soaring barely raised its heart rate | Based on their wing surface to weight ratio, turkey vultures have light wing loading. This makes them more buoyant in air than other vultures and better able to utilize thermals (note: vibe.reason) |

## Turkey Vulture. Audubon Field Guide.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/turkey-vulture

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| nesting in caves, crevices and hollow trees | Nest sites are in sheltered areas, such as inside hollow trees or logs, in crevices in cliffs, under rocks, in caves (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mostly carrion, preferring animals that died recently | Mostly carrion. Feeds mainly on dead animals, preferring those recently dead (note: stats.diet) |
| Most birds are believed to have a very poor sense of smell. | Most birds are believed to have a very poor sense of smell, but the Turkey Vulture is an exception |
| It also watches the ground and the actions of other scavengers. | Seeks carrion by soaring over open or partly wooded country, watching the ground and watching the actions of other scavengers. |
| Audubon says the turkey vulture feeds mainly on dead animals and prefers those recently dead. | Feeds mainly on dead animals, preferring those recently dead |
| It occasionally eats decaying plants, live insects or live fish in drying-up ponds. | Occasionally feeds on decaying vegetable matter, live insects, or live fish in drying-up ponds. |
| Chicks do the same when approached in the nest, and they hiss as well. | If young are approached in nest, they defend themselves by hissing and regurgitating. |
| A clutch is two eggs, sometimes one, and incubation usually takes 34 to 41 days. | 2, sometimes 1, rarely 3. Whitish, blotched with brown and lavender. Incubation is by both parents, usually 34-41 days. |
| Young birds first fly at about 9 to 10 weeks. | Age of young at first flight about 9-10 weeks. |
| The turkey vulture is an exception. | Most birds are believed to have a very poor sense of smell, but the Turkey Vulture is an exception |

## AnAge entry for Cathartes aura. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cathartes_aura

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| AnAge lists a maximum longevity of 20.8 years. | Maximum longevity 20.8 years |
| weightKg: 2.2 | Adult weight 2,200 g (note: battleStats.weightKg) |