It has a conspicuous short neck and yellow feet. The featherless head is characteristic of most carrion decomposing matter feeding birds. When vultures eat, the immerse their heads in the carcass. The decaying matter will not get stuck on their naked heads, which they would otherwise not be able to clean themselves.
This also prevents bacteria growth as well as disease. It soars with wings held slightly above horizontal, flaps infrequently. It seldom kill its own prey, feeding mostly on carrion. Grunts and hisses when disturbed.
Also, vultures have powerful stomach acid that allows them to be exposed to nasty things without problems, such as rabies, Black Plague, botulism, distemper, and anthrax. Make sure to pay attention to the range maps to see which vultures live near you!
For each species, I have included a few photographs, along with their most common sounds, to help you identify any birds you are lucky enough to observe.
The Turkey Vulture is common in Utah. Also called Turkey Buzzards, they are relatively easy to identify, as they are all black, with a bald red head and a pinkish bill.
The name derives from their loose resemblance to a Wild Turkey. Turkey Vultures use their highly developed sense of smell to locate carrion. Their sense of smell is so sensitive that they can detect dead meat from 8 miles 13 km away.
These birds actually prefer to eat fresh food, and they try to get to animals as quickly as possible after their death. These birds are dark, and they absorb heat easily. To cool themselves off, they defecate on their legs to cool the blood and help them moderate their body temperature. As you can imagine, they are often seen along roadsides eating animals that have been hit by cars.
They are also frequently observed soaring the skies in the open countryside. When these raptors are frightened, they can be so full of meat that they cannot rapidly fly away. Charles Karaian March 30, at pm. Elephants Child March 30, at pm.
April Olson March 30, at am. We saw many turkey vultures on our trip to St George last weekend. All soaring high in the sky. Marty K March 30, at am. Okerlund and Dennis Larson, who keep tabs on the annual spring return and fall departure of the huge birds each year in the Richfield area, have amusingly formed the Valley Vulture Viewers. Okerlund is the self-proclaimed president, and Larson is treasurer. They say membership in their club is easy: There is nothing to buy and there are no dues to pay.
All one has to do is enjoy the spring arrival of the birds and report sightings. The two have concluded that the birds, sometimes called buzzards as well turkey vultures Cathartes aura , arrive on March There are generally just a few to begin with, then an entire flock shows up a few days later. The birds have very seldom missed their anticipated arrival date, Okerlund said. The birds settle here to breed, building stick nests primarily on ledges and in caves.
A migratory species, turkey buzzards spend the winter in Mexico and the southern United States, heading north in the spring, spreading throughout much of the United States and into Canada. During the journey, they'll set up roosting sites in cottonwoods and other creekside trees, collecting in flocks numbering from six to or more birds, he said.
In Richfield, the big birds roost each night in large trees along the canal south of the City Cemetery. They can be seen in the morning spreading their wings, catching rays to warm themselves and waiting for the earth to heat, Okerlund noted.
A large bird of prey, mature turkey vultures are brown-black, with silver-gray flight feathers.
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