Turkey Vulture (TUVU) Cathartes Aura

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Turkey Vulture (TUVU) Cathartes aura https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/83325511#_ga=2.1464 https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/media-browser/60317261 89908.1049791428.1584571249-13185941.1583272955 Long wings help turkey vultures soar without wasting energy on flapping. Look for the pink head on adult birds. Characteristics Habitat ➔ Found in wilderness areas throughout ➔ Black body, and long black wings with much of North and South America silver flight feathers. ➔ Prefers areas with strong thermals for ➔ Featherless head is pink on adults, gray ease of soaring on juveniles ➔ Length: 64-81 cm ➔ Wingspan: 170-178 cm ➔ Weight: 2000 g ➔ Not sexually dimorphic; males and females look the same tracks/footprint info/pictures Behavior ➔ Soars great distances on thermal Other interesting pictures updrafts, often without flapping ➔ Holds wings at an angle while soaring. Forms a shallow V shape when seen from the front Photo by Steve Wolfe at https://www.birdnote.org/show/soaring-redtails ➔ Call is a soft hiss, made only rarely A soaring red-tailed hawk for comparison. When ➔ May urinate on legs to cool off overhead, colors may be difficult to distinguish. ➔ May vomit in self-defense Compare outlines of wings and tail. Turkey Vulture (TUVU) Cathartes aura Diet Range ➔ ➔ Zzyzx-specific Information ➔ ➔ ➔ https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/maps-range Conservation Status ➔ Least Concern ➔ Harmed by lead poisoning from bullets left in game animals Did you know?! ➔ Turkey vultures are one of the only birds to rely heavily on their sense of smell. They use this sense to find rotting meat to eat. Their huge nostrils https://audubonportland.org/our-work/rehabilitate-wildlife/education-animals/ruby/ are especially strange because they have no septum. You can see through one nostril and out the other! Hint: Look for turkey vulture tracks around the carcasses of dead animals. Turkey Vulture Sources https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/83325511#_ga=2.146489908.1049791428.1584571249-13185941.1583272955 https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/media-browser/60317261 https://www.birdnote.org/show/soaring-redtails https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/maps-range https://audubonportland.org/our-work/rehabilitate-wildlife/education-animals/ruby/.

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Turkey Vulture AKA: Turkey Buzzard, Buzzard, Vulture, Carrion Crow, Carrion Buzzard, Etc
Turkey Vulture AKA: Turkey Buzzard, Buzzard, Vulture, Carrion Crow, Carrion Buzzard, etc. Scientific Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Aves, Incertae sedis (disputed), Cathartidae; Cathartes; C. aura. Bird Size & Markings: Adult Turkey Vultures can be 32” long, stand 30” high and have 6 foot wingspans. Males and females have brownish-black body plum- age, silvery-gray flight feathers, bare red heads and a short yellow hooked bill. Turkey Vultures have very limited vocalization; it can only hiss or grunt. Habitat: The Turkey Vulture is the most abundant vulture in the Americas. It is commonly found in open and semi-open areas throughout the Americas from southern Canada to Cape Horn. It is a permanent resident in southern US States, though northern birds may migrate as far as South America. It prefers to roost on tall dead trees or high bare cliffs. It will roost on man-made structures such as water towers, skyscrapers, billboards and other structures of sufficient height. Nesting/Dens: There is little or no construction of a nest; eggs are laid on bare surfaces in protected locations such as a cliff, cave, burrow or inside a hollow A Turkey Vulture’s primary method of defence tree. They lay 1 or 2 eggs for each brood. Chicks fledge 9 to 10 weeks after hatch- is the projection vomiting of semi-digested car- ing. Family groups stay together until fall. rion. This deters most attackers (No doubt!). Food: Turkey Vultures prefer to feed on fresh carrion ranging in size from small mammals and dead fish to dead cattle and other grazers. They prefer fresh car- rion and avoid rotting carcasses.
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Trade in Andean Condor Vulture Gryphus Feathers and Body Parts in the City of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Cusco Region, Peru Robert S
Vulture News 61 September 2011 Trade in Andean Condor Vulture gryphus feathers and body parts in the city of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Cusco region, Peru Robert S. R. Williams1*, Jose Luis Jara1, Daphne Matsufuiji2 and Anahi Plenge2 1Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Andean Condor Working Group – Peru 2Clorinda Matto de Turner 305, Urb. Magisterio, Cusco, Peru *Corresponding author: [email protected] Summary The sale of Andean Condor feathers and body parts is undertaken openly in the tourist markets of Cusco and the Sacred Valley. This trade is illegal but there is no enforcement of existing legislation. We visited the main tourist markets of the region to ascertain the extent of the trade, reasons motivating it and value. We found condor feathers for sale in 26 establishments. Feathers were sold singly, decorated and incorporated in handicrafts. Prices ranged from 5 soles for a small body feather to 160 soles for a main primary and we found handicrafts for sale at prices of up to 650 soles (featuring 6 feathers). We were offered a whole condor for sale at a market in Cusco for 2,500 soles. Investigations revealed that there are condor hunters working to supply this trade in both the Cordillera Vilcabamba and Cordillera Vilcanota and that the town of Calca is the base of much of the handicraft production. The trade is mainly based on three uses: alternative healing, shamanic ceremonies and souvenirs. It is crucial that the Peruvian authorities honour their commitments under international conventions and act immediately to stop this illegal trade, which is further threatening a species that is already in a precarious situation.
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The Andean Condor: a Field Study ______
_____________________________________ THE ANDEAN CONDOR: A FIELD STUDY _____________________________________ By: Jerry McGahan Box 71 Arlee, MT 59821 (406) 726-3480 [email protected] JerryMcGahan.com With photographs, field, and clerical assistance by: Libby Sale Dedicated to the Memory of Carlos Lehmann V Maria Koepcke Enrique Avila William Millie i Table of Contents PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDMENTS……………………………………………………… 1 1 THE STUDY .............................................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 6 STUDY AREAS .............................................................................................................. 15 Colombia .............................................................................................................. 15 Cerro Illescas ....................................................................................................... 18 Paracas ................................................................................................................ 20 THE SUBJECT ................................................................................................................ 21 Taxonomy ............................................................................................................. 21 Description ........................................................................................................... 22
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Olfactory Sensitivity of the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes Aura) to Three Carrion-Associated Odorants
OLFACTORY SENSITIVITY OF THE TURKEY VULTURE (CATHARTES AURA) TO THREE CARRION-ASSOCIATED ODORANTS STEVEN A. SMITH • AND RICHARD A. PASELK Departmentsof BiologicalSciences and Chemistry, Humboldt State University, Arcata,California 95523 USA ABSTRACT.--TheTurkey Vulture (Cathartesaura) is generally thought to rely on olfactory cuesto locate carrion. Becausevertically rising odorantsare dispersedrapidly by wind tur- bulence, we predict that Turkey Vultures should be highly sensitive to these chemicalsto detect them at foraging altitudes. Olfactory thresholdsto three by-productsof animal decomposition(1 x 10-6 M for buta- noic acid and ethanethiol, and 1 x 10-5 M for trimethylamine) were determined from heart- rate responses.These relatively high thresholds indicate that these odorantsare probably not cuesfor foraging Turkey Vultures. Odorant thresholds,food habits of Turkey Vultures, and the theoretical properties of odorant dispersion cast some doubt on the general impor- tanceof olfaction in food locationby this species.Received 23 September1985, accepted 3 March 1986. THEsensory modality by which Turkey Vul- Companydiscovered that natural gas leaks could tures (Cathartes aura) locate carrion has been be tracedby injectingethanethiol into gaslines debatedby naturalistsfor nearly 140 years(see and patrolling the lines for Turkey Vultures Stager1964 for review). Most of the controver- that, ostensibly,were attractedto the metcap- sy concernedwhether olfaction or vision was tan (Stager 1964). Stager (1964: 56) concluded the more important sense,although other the- from anatomical examinations and field tests ories included an "occult" sense (Beck 1920), that the Turkey Vulture "possessesand utilizes the noiseof carrion-eatingrodents, or the noise a well developedolfactory food locatingmech- of carrion-eatinginsects (Taber 1928, Darling- anism." ton 1930) as attractingTurkey Vultures to their If Turkey Vulturesrely on olfactorycues to prey.
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Valuable Vultures by Guy Belleranti
Name: ______________________________ Valuable Vultures by Guy Belleranti What do you think of when you hear the word “vulture”? Many people think vultures are icky because they eat the remains of other animals. While it's true that most vultures are scavengers that eat carrion (dead animals), this is actually a really good thing! By eating carrion, vultures help prevent the spread of disease into our soil and water. This makes vultures very valuable! Biologists divide vultures into two groups – Old World and New World. Old World vultures live in Africa, Asia, and Europe. New World vultures live in North, Central, and South America. There are no vultures in Australia or Antarctica. Old World and New World vultures are not close relatives. Still, they do have things in common: • Many, have bald or lightly feathered heads. This helps keep their heads clean when they consume the meat of other animals. • They have sharp, hooked beaks for ripping meat apart. • Their strong stomach acids kill bacteria that would make most animals sick. Also, both Old World and New World vultures have large wings and can glide without flapping them. This helps them save energy when they're searching for food. This is especially important for large, heavy vultures like South America’s Andean condor, North America’s extremely endangered California condor, and Asia’s Himalayan vulture. Vultures hunt during the day, when most other animal scavengers are sleeping. Old World vultures often glide over open areas like grasslands and deserts. Great eyesight helps them spot dead animals. Many New World vultures live in rain forests where plants make the ground difficult to see.
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Greater Yellow&Hyphen;Headed Vulture &Lpar;<I>Cathartes
38 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 26, NO. 1 j RaptorRes. 26(1):38-39 ¸ 1992 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc. GREATER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE ( Cathartesrnelarnbrotus) LOCATES FOOD BY OLFACTION GARY R. GRAVES Departmentof VertebrateZoology, National Museum of Natural History, SmithsonianInstitution, Washington, DC 20560 Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura) and LesserYellow- (6-8 m) was exceedinglydense, the carcasscould not be headed Vultures (Cathartesburrovianus) have acute senses observedfrom the air. Presumably,the vulture landedon of smell(Stager 1964, Houston1986, 1988). Althoughthe the trail and approachedthe carcass,some 10 m from the olfactorycapacities of the Greater Yellow-headedVulture trail edge, on foot. (C. melambrotus)are unknown, they are thought to be On another occasion,a pair of Greater Yellow-headed similar to thoseof its congeners(Houston 1988). Here I Vultures discovereda cacheof day-old flesh from a large report observationsthat stronglysuggest the use of smell museum specimenof the Brazilian Porcupine (Coendou by this speciesto locatecarrion. Collectively,these data prehensilis)that had been dumped200 m from camp at indicate that acute olfaction is a shared derived character the end of a poorly marked trail. The fleshhad beenpartly of Catharteswithin the Cathartidae, as reflectedby the covered with leaf litter and was further obscured from large olfactory lobe (Bangs 1964, pers. observation). view by the canopyof tall (30 m) seasonallyflooded forest. I made daily observationsof vulture abundanceand The cachewas difficult for me to visually locatewhen I behavior on the east bank of the Rio Xingu (3ø39'S returned to the area, and in all likelihood, could not have 52ø22'W), 52 km SSW of Altamira, Patti, Brazil (Graves beenobserved by vulturesflying abovethe canopy.In both and Zusi 1990), from 14 August to 29 September 1986.
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Competitive Interactions Within and Between Species in a Guild of Avian Scavengers
COMPETITIVE INTERACTIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECIES IN A GUILD OF AVIAN SCAVENGERS MICHAEL P. WALLACE AND STANLEY A. TEMPLE Departmentof WildlifeEcology, University of Wisconsin,Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA ABSTRACT.--Weobserved Andean Condors(Vultur gryphus),King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa),Black Vultures (Coragypsatratus), Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura), and CrestedCara- caras(Polyborus plancus) interacting at 217 animal carcassesat two sitesin northern Peru. At 53 carcassesfor which we knew order of arrival, Turkey Vulturesusually arrived first, Black Vulturessecond, and condorsthird. On the basisof our observationsof 8,066 aggressive encountersbetween birds, we constructeddominance hierarchies by calculatingthe propor- tion of encounterswon by an individualof one species,sex, or age during encounterswith an individual of another species,sex, or age. Within each speciesthere was a positive rela- tionship between a bird's dominanceand its age. In condors,males dominatedfemales of the sameage. Interspecificdominance was correlatedpositively with body mass.There are convergentsimilarities between the organizationsof guildsof Old and New World vultures. ReceivedI August1986, accepted24 November1986. WHENlimited resourcesare found in •9idely coramphuspapa), Black Vultures (Coragypsatra- dispersed,rich patchesthat are ephemeral and tus), Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), and unpredictable in spatial and temporal occur- Crested Caracaras(Polyborus plancus). We have rence, competition between consumers could shown previously that during
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California Condor (Gymnogyps Californianus) 5-Year Review
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A Microscopic Analysis of the Plumulaceous Feather Characteristics of Accipitriformes with Exploration of Spectrophotometry to Supplement Feather Identification
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Rumped Vulture (Gyps Bengalensis ) in and Around Jorbeer Area, Bikaner
International Journal of Research in Environmental Science (IJRES) Volume 2, Issue 4, 2016, PP 35-39 ISSN 2454-9444 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-9444.0204003 www.arcjournals.org The Ecology and Behaviour of Critically Endangered White- Rumped Vulture (Gyps Bengalensis) in and Around Jorbeer Area, Bikaner Dr. Prabodh Chander Khatri Lecturer (Biology), Department of Research, Institute of Advance Study in Education (I.A.S.E.) Bikaner (Rajasthan) [email protected] Abstract: White-rumped vulture was completely migratory vulture at Jorbeer, Bikaner. Now it is disappearing from site. After year 2013 no single white-rumped was observed. Maximum of 7 white-rumped vultures recorded in 15 years of research study. The distribution of the species was recorded in 15 villages covering 1584 Square / Kilometer area between Latitude 27050' North to 28004' North and 73004' East to 73034' East Longitude as home range in Eastern-Southern and South-West part of Bikaner. The spectacular daily activity of white-rumped vulture comprises Feeding 2.72%, Resting 67.42%, Sunning 0.60%, Scratching 0.05%, Disturbance 0.06%, Fighting 0.009% and Flight 27.87% of total day activity. Only one dead vulture and no sick vulture observed during research work. At Jorbeer, feral dogs are main threat for vultures. Medication and effect of any disease was not recorded in vultures. Keywords: White-rumped vulture, Migratory, Disappearing, Feral dogs. 1. INTRODUCTION Vultures have declined from many parts of their former ranges owing to food shortages and loss of habitat (Pain et al. 2003). Since the early 1990s there has been a catastrophic decline in three Gyps species in the Indian subcontinent white rumped vulture, long billed and slender billed vultures1.
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Cathartes Aura (Turkey Vulture Or King Corbeau) Family: Cathartidae (New World Vultures) Order: Falconiformes (Diurnal Birds of Prey) Class: Aves (Birds)
UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Behaviour Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture or King Corbeau) Family: Cathartidae (New World Vultures) Order: Falconiformes (Diurnal Birds of Prey) Class: Aves (Birds) Fig. 1. Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura. [http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id, downloaded 3 November 2012] TRAITS. The turkey vulture also known to the Caribbean as the king corbeau or john crow is the most widespread of the new world vultures. The turkey vulture is noted for its ability to thrive in a wide range of climates making them a major predatory organism. That fact is also emphasised by their increase in north America during the period 1990-2002 (Avery, 2004). They are 25-32 inches long having a wingspan of about 6 feet with healthy adults weighing 850-2000 g (Burton & Burton, 2002). Their head is relatively small, bald and red in colour with the tips of the beak white and pointed. The feathers of the turkey vulture are relatively black but the wings are two toned with dark and silvery edges (Icenoggle, 2003). The feet of the vulture are small and curved with 3 toes forward and one toe backwards they also have very small and conspicuous eyes (Fig. 1). They are excellent fliers gliding for long distances without flapping their wings, it has been calculated that they fly at 40 miles per hour (Burton& Burton, 2002). ECOLOGY. The turkey vulture has a wide habitat range inhabiting conditions of varying extremes including rainforest and desert ecosystems. They extend from the United States into Central America and South America, and Trinidad.
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