Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
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Turkey vultures are large soaring birds that can be 26 inches long with a wingspan of 67 inches. They weigh about 4 pounds. Being scavengers, they feed on carrion, garbage, and anything else they can find. Turkey vultures have brownish bodies and red heads that lack feathers. The large hooked beak helps them tear flesh or other food. Turkey vulture tracks can be found in many places, frequently near their feeding areas. They show three toes facing forward and one back. Claw marks sometimes show in the prints.
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Turkey vulture in a tree. |
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This turkey vulture track was almost stepped on by a gray fox (track in upper left). This is the right foot. |
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| Left track of a turkey vulture on wet sand | |
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The left track of a turkey vulture. I watched the bird land and then walk around on the river bar, then I went over and photographed its tracks. |
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| turkey vulture
track - left foot |
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| turkey vulture track - left foot | |
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Turkey vulture looking for food on the ground |
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Turkey vulture perched in a tree |
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Pair of turkey vultures in a Douglas fir tree. |
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| Turkey vultures will often sit on a perch in the sun with their wings spread out like this. It might be to warm their wings or dry their feathers. I am not sure of the exact reason. I've often seen them doing this on cold mornings. | |
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| Turkey vulture soaring on thermal updrafts. Vultures spend a lot of their time soaring. It conserves energy and allows them to find their food without wasting a lot of valuable energy. | |
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Turkey vulture soaring in a river canyon |
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Turkey vulture warming its wings in late afternoon sunlight along a river |
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Turkey vulture in a tree |
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A soaring turkey vulture |
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Composite image of a turkey vulture |
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| Turkey vulture sunning its wings in the early morning on top of a basketball backboard | |
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Find turkey vulture posters, greeting cards, t-shirts, hats, and more in my new store.
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Visit Beartracker's Nature
Store at: www.dirt-time.com
Happy tracking!!
What else can you find in the nature store? Beartracker's animal tracks coloring book, T-shirts, sweatshirts, journals, book bags, toddler and infant apparel, mouse pads, posters, postcards, coffee mugs, travel mugs, clocks, Frisbees, bumper stickers, hats, stickers, and many more items. All with tracks or paw prints, or nature scenes. Custom products are available. If you don't see the track you want on the product you want, email me and I can probably create it. Proceeds from all sales go to pay the monthly fees for this web site. You can help support this site as well as get great tracking products! Thank you! |
| Find other tracking products: www.zazzle.com/tracker8459* |
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visit these fine stores for more products of
interest:
NDN Pride shop - For Indian Pride items for all tribes. Custom items available on request. ASL Signs of Love - For anyone who uses or is learning ASL, American Sign Language. Custom name items and more are available here. Get Every Child Outdoors (Get E.C.O.) - My shop dedicated to nature and getting kids interested in nature and the outdoors. Sales from all stores give commissions to Beartracker's Animal Tracks Den, which helps keep this site online as a free service. We are celebrating ten years online this year! |
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If you wish to help keep this site
online, donations are accepted through PayPal. |
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Got a turkey vulture story? E-mail me and tell me about it. You
are visitor number: Copyright © 1997, 2018 Text, drawings, and photos by Kim A. Cabrera |
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Page updated: March 26, 2018.
