Turkey Vulture by DCLEW2

Photography • Animals • posted on Apr 09, 2008

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Description

I caught this guy flying by on my spring walk the few evenings ago. The sun was low and caught his wings nicely. The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its meals using its sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets, each year generally raising two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation.[6] It has very few natural predators.[7] In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.