# Turkey Vulture (*Cathartes aura*)

The turkey vulture (*Cathartes aura*) is a bird of the family Cathartidae, in the order Accipitriformes.

> The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is a large scavenger found from southern Canada to the tip of South America. Unlike most birds it has a keen sense of smell and can find carrion hidden under trees by its odour. Adults have a bare red head and dark plumage, and soar with wings held in a shallow V. It is the most widespread vulture in the Americas and is listed as Least Concern.

- **Category:** Bird
- **Conservation status (IUCN-style):** Least Concern
- **Range:** Southern Canada through the United States, Central America and the Caribbean to Tierra del Fuego.
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/turkey-vulture/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Accipitriformes
- **Family:** Cathartidae
- **Genus:** Cathartes

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Cathartes aura |
| Diet | Scavenger: carrion of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish |
| Habitat | Open country, farmland, forest edges and towns |
| Weight | Average about 1.5 kg |
| Lifespan | Average about 10 years; oldest banded bird 16 years 10 months |
| Range | Southern Canada to Tierra del Fuego |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2018) |

## Finding food by smell

Most birds rely on sight, but the turkey vulture has an unusually large olfactory system and can detect the gases released by decaying flesh. That lets it find carcasses hidden under a forest canopy. Black vultures, which often follow turkey vultures, take advantage of this and sometimes push them off the food.

## How to recognise one

Adults are dark brown-black with a small, bare red head. In flight the underside of the wings shows silvery flight feathers behind dark coverts. Turkey vultures hold their wings slightly raised in a V and rock from side to side while soaring, rarely flapping. Young birds have greyish heads.

## Clean-up crew

Turkey vultures eat dead animals of almost any kind and rarely kill anything themselves. By removing carcasses they limit the spread of disease, and their digestive system destroys many bacteria. Northern populations migrate south in winter, often travelling in large flocks that ride rising warm air.

## Conservation

BirdLife International lists the turkey vulture as Least Concern (2018) with a stable population and an extremely large range. Like other scavengers it can be poisoned by lead from ammunition left in carcasses and by pesticides.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is it called a turkey vulture?

The adult's bare red head and dark body reminded early European settlers of a male wild turkey.

### Can turkey vultures smell?

Yes. They have one of the best senses of smell of any bird and can locate carrion hidden from view by its odour.

### Are turkey vultures dangerous?

No. They feed almost entirely on animals that are already dead and do not attack people or healthy pets. A disturbed bird may vomit to lighten itself and deter predators.

### What is the difference between a turkey vulture and a buzzard?

In North America people often call turkey vultures 'buzzards', but in Europe a buzzard is a hawk (Buteo buteo). Turkey vultures belong to the New World vulture family, Cathartidae.

## Sources

- [BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/turkey-vulture-cathartes-aura)
- [Animal Diversity Web: Cathartes aura. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cathartes_aura/)
- Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898
- [Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.](https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/)

## Help protect the Turkey Vulture

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/turkey-vulture/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.