ArielSD
Spread-Winged Turkey Vulture - Fascinating Bird
Explore - July 5th, 2013 - #214
Before you think the Turkey Vulture has a face only a mother could love, consider this...
>This large bird species has been around since prehistoric times (anything prehistoric is cool by default!)
>Turkey vultures have been used to detect the location of natural gas leaks, because they will circle over the leak lured by the rotten-meat odor added to the gas.
>One of a vulture’s frequently used defense mechanisms is to throw up vomiting powerful stomach acids. This accomplishes two things: It lightens its personal load and makes it easier to fly away and, at the same time, momentarily stuns, confuses or disgusts its potential predator. (I think this counts as a superpower!)
> In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently (it is so beautiful and relaxing to watch them thermalling)
>Vultures are portrayed in many comedic stereotypical forms as desert-circling-last-moment-before-death birds, ugly and stupid. But in reality, they are graceful fascinating creatures that help keep our environment clean and healthy.
> In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
This vulture is often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria. It is practiced more often following damp or rainy nights.
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the turkey buzzard (or just buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John crow or carrion crow, is the most widespread of the New World vultures.
The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. It roosts in large community groups.
Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. Turkey Vultures are not sexually dimorphic, meaning there is no way to tell male from female. The Turkey Vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult's bald red head and its dark plumage to that of the male Wild Turkey, while the name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus, meaning "tearer," and is a reference to its feeding habits.
Vultures have historically been grouped with other raptors on the basis of their overall appearance. Often seen soaring high in the sky, they are often mistaken for hawks or eagles.
However, it has recently been determined that the seven species of New World vultures are more closely related to storks than to the hawks and eagles with which they were originally grouped. Unlike all other raptors, vultures are not birds of prey. They feed solely on carrion, preferring animals that have been dead for two to four days. This certainly explains why they, unlike all other raptors, lack strong, grasping feet and talons. Feeding on carrion has led to a number of other vulture adaptations. Long, broad wings allow for many hours of effortless soaring. The elevated hind toe and blunt talons allow for easier walking. Their bare heads keep otherwise-present feathers from getting dirty and specialized enzymes and bacteria allow them to eat contaminated meat.
Spread-Winged Turkey Vulture - Fascinating Bird
Explore - July 5th, 2013 - #214
Before you think the Turkey Vulture has a face only a mother could love, consider this...
>This large bird species has been around since prehistoric times (anything prehistoric is cool by default!)
>Turkey vultures have been used to detect the location of natural gas leaks, because they will circle over the leak lured by the rotten-meat odor added to the gas.
>One of a vulture’s frequently used defense mechanisms is to throw up vomiting powerful stomach acids. This accomplishes two things: It lightens its personal load and makes it easier to fly away and, at the same time, momentarily stuns, confuses or disgusts its potential predator. (I think this counts as a superpower!)
> In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently (it is so beautiful and relaxing to watch them thermalling)
>Vultures are portrayed in many comedic stereotypical forms as desert-circling-last-moment-before-death birds, ugly and stupid. But in reality, they are graceful fascinating creatures that help keep our environment clean and healthy.
> In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
This vulture is often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria. It is practiced more often following damp or rainy nights.
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the turkey buzzard (or just buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John crow or carrion crow, is the most widespread of the New World vultures.
The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. It roosts in large community groups.
Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. Turkey Vultures are not sexually dimorphic, meaning there is no way to tell male from female. The Turkey Vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult's bald red head and its dark plumage to that of the male Wild Turkey, while the name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus, meaning "tearer," and is a reference to its feeding habits.
Vultures have historically been grouped with other raptors on the basis of their overall appearance. Often seen soaring high in the sky, they are often mistaken for hawks or eagles.
However, it has recently been determined that the seven species of New World vultures are more closely related to storks than to the hawks and eagles with which they were originally grouped. Unlike all other raptors, vultures are not birds of prey. They feed solely on carrion, preferring animals that have been dead for two to four days. This certainly explains why they, unlike all other raptors, lack strong, grasping feet and talons. Feeding on carrion has led to a number of other vulture adaptations. Long, broad wings allow for many hours of effortless soaring. The elevated hind toe and blunt talons allow for easier walking. Their bare heads keep otherwise-present feathers from getting dirty and specialized enzymes and bacteria allow them to eat contaminated meat.