Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

 The genusname Cathartes (kath-ARE-tis) is fromthe Greek, meaning cleanser, hence scavenger. The species name aura (OW-rah) is a South American orMexican name from the Latinized name aurum for gold. The common name is from the red skin of the head and dark bodyfeathers resembling a turkey. It is a large dark bird in all plumages with therear half of the wings being a silver color. Adults have a naked red head andpale bill. The TUVUs are excellent at soaring on uprising air and rarely haveto flap their wings - the wings are held in a “V” while rocking back and forth.The bird has an exceptional sense of smell and can find its primary food,carrion, by odor over a long distance. They feed mainly on dead animals,preferring those that are recently dead. They provide a very useful service bygetting rid of smelly carcasses. Sometimes they will feed on decaying vegetablematter, live insects or fish in dried up ponds. The TUVU can be seen over mostof North America in the spring and summer. In Washington state theyare a fairly common resident of open country lowlands west of the Cascades andalong lower slopes on the eastside. They are a common migrant across the Straitof Juan de Fuca in the fall with many arriving in the vicinity of Salt Creek County Parkfrom south Vancouver Island. Many observersspend a couple of weeks in the area counting the migrating birds each fall. Thisdata is collected and evaluated in an ongoing study of Pacific Northwest vultures by Diann MacRae. Turkey Vulture sightinginformation is welcomed and should be sent to Diann at tvulture@vei.net . Courtship display consistof several birds gathering in a circle on the ground and doing ritual hoppingmovements around the circle with wings spread. They nest in sheltered areaslike hollow trees or logs, crevices in cliffs, under rocks, in caves or in oldbuildings. No nest is built and 1 to 3 eggs, but usually 2 are laid on debrisor on the flat bottom of the nest. The eggs are whitish with blotches of  brown and lavender. Both parents incubate theeggs for 30-41 days. One parent stays with the young most of the time. Theyfeed the young by regurgitation. The age of the young at first flight is about9-10 weeks. TUVUs are generally silent, but will hiss or grunt if threatened. Theoldest known TUVU is one that lived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.for 20 years, 9 months.