You see one soaring overhead just about every day. In fact, it”s one of the more common birds in Lake County and the biology of this native bird is nothing short of fascinating. It”s the turkey vulture, more commonly called a buzzard.
The turkey vulture”s scientific name is carhartes aura and it”s actually a member of the stork family. They are large birds with a wing span of up to 6 feet. An adult vulture can weigh up to 8 pounds. They eat strictly meat. In fact, 80 percent of their diet is carrion.
Turkey vultures are found throughout the United States and are especially common in California. In Lake County, it is estimated that there are approximately 1,000 vultures.
The Turkey Vulture Society supplies some interesting facts about this large, soaring bird. Vultures locate their food by both sight and smell. They have incredible eyesight and they also have a keen sense of smell. In fact, only American vultures, including the turkey vulture, black vulture, Andean condor, Cal-ifornia condor and king vulture can smell. The turkey vulture in particular has a very well-developed sense of smell. It has shown itself in several tests to use its sense of smell as a means of finding food.
Leaks in natural gas pipelines have been found thanks to the turkey vulture”s acute sense of smell. Turkey vultures smell the chemical mercantan, which smells like carrion and is put into natural gas for human safety. The birds will circle over the portion of pipe that is broken and emitting the odor.
Experiments have shown they can even find a dead animal that”s been hidden under a thick canopy of trees. Their nostrils are extremely wide and open from one side of the bill straight across to the other side. Their bare, featherless head is especially designed to feed in the cavities of large dead animals. They have short, weak legs and small talons, which in turn restricts them from carrying off food. They are physically incapable of killing anything.
Years ago farmers would blame vulture for killing their chickens and would shoot them. Actually the vultures were an asset to the farmer. While they have few enemies, they will regurgitate the contents of their stomach when threatened. It”s a disgusting habit that”s very effective in frightening away an attacker. Even the chicks have this ability.
In Lake County, turkey vultures feed heavily on road kills of squirrels, skunks and other small animals. Drive any back road in the county and you”re likely to see a vulture feeding on a dead squirrel.
Despite eating rotten meat, the poop of a turkey vulture is clean and contains little or no bacteria, the reason being that their stomachs contain digestive acids that kill virtually all bacteria and viruses. There is even evidence that they can consume meat infected with anthrax and destroy the virus in their digestive system. After stepping in a carcass, they will often expel their waste, which is white and fluid, onto their legs. The uric acid kills any bacteria that they may have picked up from the dead animal.
Turkey vultures avoid decaying meat if it”s too rotten. Experiments have shown that they prefer fresh meat but often don”t find the meat until it has become decayed and more odorous.
People often think circling vultures mean there is a dead animal. That”s not always true. Although they will circle a dead animal, they may also be gaining altitude for a long flight, searching for food or even playing.
Another myth is that a vulture will circle a dying animal. Most of the time they ignore a sick or dying animal. Turkey vultures don”t scavenge at night because they have poor vision in the dark. It is impossible to determine the sex of a turkey vulture without a complete medical examination.
Turkey vultures are white when they are hatched. They turn dark after a few weeks. Scientists say the reason they are white instead of a dark color is because the nests are usually in hidden and remote areas such as hollow tree trunks or rock hollows and there is no reason to be camouflaged from predators.
A group of vultures is called a Venue. A group of vultures circling on thermals to gain altitude is called a Kettle because they resemble the rising bubbles in a boiling pot of water. They live as long as 20 years and the oldest turkey vulture on record is 38 years old and lives at the San Francisco Zoo.
Vultures are fully protected by law and cannot be killed or injured. Actually, since they cause no threat to anything, it would be foolish to harm one. They are a bird that has truly found a valuable place in the wild.
