It’s Wildlife Wednesday and today we are looking at Turkey Vultures! Are they creepy harbingers of death or nature’s clever cleanup crew? The Turkey Vulture is a large dark bird with long, broad wings. Although we have turkey vultures in the Florida Keys year-round, we get a large number of seasonal birds that have headed south to escape harsh weather conditions. They feed on carrion (dead stuff), mostly from mammals but also reptiles, other birds, amphibians, fish, and even invertebrates. Their scientific name is Cathartes aura which translates to “golden purifier” or “purifying breeze”. These birds are often seen slowly, teetering in flight as they soar across the sky, rarely flapping their large wings. A great way to tell them apart from hawks and eagles during flight is by looking at the shape of their wings. Turkey Vultures hold their wings up slightly while they fly, making a V-shape when you view them head on. Turkey vultures have an incredible sense of smell; this helps them find food long before they’d see it, even if hidden below the forest canopy. You may see these vultures riding thermals high in the air or in groups resting in trees (as in the video) or on the ground as they feed on carrion. Lucky for them, vultures have an excellent immune system. They can feed on dead animals that are contaminated with botulism, anthrax, cholera, or salmonella without getting sick. Lucky for us, since turkey vultures serve a very important role as a scavenger in the ecosystem, recycling nutrients by reducing dead and decaying creatures to skin, fur, and bones in just a few days. We have turkey vultures to thank for providing this free clean up service. Cool fact- Our American vultures look very similar to vultures in Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, they are not very closely related. They have evolved the same characteristics, like bald heads, broad wings, and eating dead meat, so they can fill the same ecological role in different countries. This is what we call convergent evolution. Video credit: Heidi Murray/USFWS For more information-see Cornell University/All About Birds website- allaboutbirds.org/guide/turkey_vulture/ID
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:14:32 +0000