Turkey vulture
Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758)
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is a species in the family Cathartidae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.43 kg to 1.81 kg and live up to 16.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the turkey vulture
- Weight
- 1.43 kg – 1.81 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.98 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 16.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Scavengersrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 20.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 39.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the turkey vulture?
Where does the turkey vulture live?
Not recorded
What is the turkey vulture?
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
Like all New World vultures, it is not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, the two groups strongly resemble each other due to convergent evolution.
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 gasses produced by the early stages of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. 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. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
From the Wikipedia article “Turkey vulture” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turkey_vulture&oldid=1384931241), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the turkey vulture endangered?
The turkey vulture is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the turkey vulture classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyCathartidae
- genusCathartes
- SpeciesCathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Catharista aura, Cathartes aurea, Oenops aura, Percnopterus aura, Vultur aura
Other names and names in other languages (90)
- BuzzardEnglish
- JankroEnglish
- John crowEnglish
- Turkey buzzardEnglish
- TVEnglish
- SaykiAlabama
- نسر روميArabic
- البُغَاث الرشيقArabic
- النسر الروميArabic
- النَّسْرُ الرُّومِيُّArabic
- نَّسْرُ الحَبَشِArabic
- Пуйков лешоядBulgarian
- টার্কি শকুনBangla
- Urubu penn ruzBreton
- AuraCatalan
- zopilot cap-roigCatalan
- Zopilot capvermellCatalan
- ᏑᎵCherokee
- kondor krocanovitýCzech
- Fwltur pengoch AmericaWelsh
- KalkungribDanish
- TruthahngeierGerman
- ΓαλόγυπαςGreek
- meleagra katartoEsperanto
- ZonchicheSpanish
- Aura gallipavoSpanish
- Aura tiñosaSpanish
- Cuervo cabeza rojaSpanish
- Gallinazo cabecirrojoSpanish
- Gallinazo cabeza rojaSpanish
- Gallinazo de cabeza rojaSpanish
- Guala cabecirrojaSpanish
- Jote cabeza coloradaSpanish
- Jote de cabeza coloradaSpanish
- LauraSpanish
- MauraSpanish
- OripopoSpanish
- Zopilote auraSpanish
- Zopilote CabecirrojoSpanish
- kalkunkondorEstonian
- Sai papargorriBasque
- کرکس بوقلمونیPersian
- kalkkunakondoriFinnish
- Urubu à tête rougeFrench
- Bultúr TurcachIrish
- Yryvu akâ virâiGuarani
- קתרטס תרנגוליHebrew
- crvenoglavi lešinarCroatian
- pulykakeselyűHungarian
- Hering KalkunIndonesian
- Avvoltoio tacchinoItalian
- Avvoltoio collorossoItalian
- ヒメコンドルJapanese
- 쇠콘도르Korean
- 칠면조수리Korean
- Sîqalka ciluqKurdish
- paprastasis kalakutinis grifasLithuanian
- tītaru grifsLatvian
- wirumfy
- ടർക്കി കഴുകൻMalayalam
- Jeeshóóʼ (íiyisígíí)Navajo
- kalkoengierDutch
- RoodkopgierDutch
- WiinaangeOjibwa
- Zamuro Cabez CoraPapiamento
- sępnik różowogłowyPolish
- ترکی گدھWestern Panjabi
- JerebaPortuguese
- CamirangaPortuguese
- Urubu campeiroPortuguese
- Urubu de cobraPortuguese
- Urubu realPortuguese
- Urubu-caçadorPortuguese
- urubu-de-cabeça-vermelhaPortuguese
- Xem xemPortuguese
- Puka uma suyuntuQuechua
- Гриф-индейкаRussian
- Катарта-индейкаRussian
- kondor morkovitýSlovak
- Ćurkasti lešinarSerbian
- црвеноглави ћурколики лешинарSerbian
- kalkonkondorSwedish
- kalkongamSwedish
- Hindi AkbabasıTurkish
- Hindimsi PakbabaTurkish
- Гриф-індичкаUkrainian
- катарта червоноголоваUkrainian
- hú∙šɨmWasho
- 紅頭美洲鷲Chinese
- 红头美洲鹫Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the turkey vulture
Other species in the same genus Cathartes.
Lesser yellow-headed vulture
Cathartes burrovianus
Greater yellow-headed vulture
Cathartes melambrotus
CompareTurkey vulture vs Lesser yellow-headed vultureTurkey vulture vs Greater yellow-headed vultureTurkey vulture vs Cathartes emslieiTurkey vulture vs Cathartes auraruficollis
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the turkey vulture?
An adult turkey vulture weighs 1.43 kg – 1.81 kg and has a wingspan of 1.98 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the turkey vulture endangered?
The turkey vulture is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the turkey vulture live?
The turkey vulture has a recorded lifespan of 16.8 years.
What kind of animal is the turkey vulture?
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) belongs to the family Cathartidae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/turkey-vulture
“Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/turkey-vulture.
@misc{turkey_vulture_2026,
title = {Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/turkey-vulture},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}