Birds are amazing as their intelligence is often greater than other animals. Two of the most intelligent are the crow and the raven. The turkey vulture is another bird that has superior intelligence. It’s called a turkey buzzard because its bald and red head resembles a turkey.
The turkey vulture is often called a buzzard. Its scientific name is carhartes aura and it is actually a member of the stork family. They are large birds with a wing span of up to 6 feet. An adult vulture will weigh up to 8 pounds. They eat strictly meat and the older the better. In fact, 80 percent of their diet is carrion. Turkey vultures can be found throughout the United States and they are especially common in California. In Lake County it is estimated there are 1,000 vultures. On any given day vultures can be seen soaring above the rooftops and trees. They can stay up for hours while riding air currents and the wind. These creatures of the skies are actually on patrol, looking for carcasses of dead animals.
Turkey vultures are one of very few birds that can actually smell. They have an excellent sense of smell and can detect a dead animal from hundreds of feet in the air. They can even locate dead animals that are hidden under a canopy of trees. Normally when an animal dies it starts to emit a gaseous odor within a few hours and the vulture can detect that odor and home in on the dead creature.
Their nostrils are extremely wide and open from one side of the bill straight across to the other side. In addition to their sense of smell, they have excellent eyesight, which also aids them in finding food. Vultures will feed on just about any dead carcass, even those that have begun to rot. The bare, featherless head is especially designed to feed in the cavities of large dead animals. They have short and weak legs and small talons, which restrict them from carrying off food. They are physically incapable of killing anything.
Vulture have few enemies but when threatened will regurgitate the contents of their stomach. It’s a disgusting habit but very effective in frightening away an attacker. Even the chicks have this ability. Vultures lay their eggs in remote forest caves or on rocky ledges. They are considered poor nest builders. In four weeks the eggs hatch and the young are born snow white. They turn black after a few weeks.
Whereas it’s not likely many people would want a buzzard at their backyard bird feeder, they are an important part of the ecosystem. They clean up road-killed animals and are the undertakers of the forest. A flock of buzzards can completely clean up a deer carcass within an hour, leaving only the bones and a little bit of the hide. They are also often seen feeding on road-killed squirrels, skunks, raccoons and possums. At Clear Lake they can often be seen feeding on dead carp and other large fish that have washed ashore.
Vultures often sit and spread their wings in one spot for hours to soak up the sun. In fact, during a recent bird hike my partner and I saw several vultures sitting in trees with wings spread out. The sun helps vultures keep their feathers healthy by causing parasites to converge in areas where birds can more easily get rid of them. On especially chilly days, sunbathing can also help with warming them up.
Vultures are protected by law and cannot be killed or injured. Actually, since they pose no threat to anything it would be foolish to harm one. They are a bird that has truly found a niche in the wild.
Two places where the vultures can be commonly seen in Lake County are Clear Lake State Park and Lakeside County Park.
