Turkey Vulture

Our only vulture. Common throughout Sonoma County (and most of the United States), and one of our most common birds. Hardly a day goes by without seeing one overhead--sometimes five or six or more--wheeling in slow circles over a road kill or other potential meal. Eats carrion and refuse.

In flight, usually keeps its wings still, in a shallow “V”, rocking back and forth from time to time, only rarely flapping its wings. The “V” posture (or dihedral) in the wings is distinctive. Also distinctive is the red, featherless head and white bill of adults (juveniles have dark heads and bills), and the contrast between the dark wing linings and the pale, semi-translucent flight feathers. This two-tone look (photo above) and the dihedral allow Turkey Vulture to be identified with the naked eye even at great distances.

Turkey Vulture is a communal rooster, and during the wet winter months, groups of them may sit in trees or on top of telephone poles with their wings outstretched to dry, looking very much like something out of a Charles Addams cartoon. The only other bird in the county that behaves this way is Double-crested Cormorant. Turkey Vulture is common today, but it may be at some risk as urban development reduces the availability of animal carcasses and because the large cavities the bird favors for nesting are found only in older dead trees, which are becoming scarce and are often removed.

At a distance, may be confused with Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), but that bird is uncommon in the county. Golden Eagle is considerably larger (wing span about 79 inches; typical Turkey Vulture wing span is about 67 inches). Golden Eagle flies with a slight dihedral, but less pronounced than Turkey Vulture and does not rock in flight the way Turkey Vulture does. Golden Eagle also lacks the distinct two-tone look in the wings. At close range, there should be no confusion. North America’s only other vulture is Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), but that bird is confined to the Eastern and Southern United States (although the range map in Sibley’s (Western North America edition) shows a dot of rare occurrence in California, far inland and well to the north of us. Where California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is present (not in Sonoma County), Turkey Vulture can be momentarily confused with the Condor, but the size differential is usually apparent even at very long distances--California Condor is a giant of a bird, with a wingspan of around 109 inches.