Remarkable turkey vultures deserve respect
Let’s face it. Vultures have a terrible reputation. Whether it’s the cartoon image of a buzzard circling over a stinking carcass by the hot road, or their remarkable yet grotesque habits that keep them fed or that keep them cool, they are the furthest thing from beautiful warblers.
The most common vulture across Southwestern Ontario is the turkey vulture and these birds do resemble wild turkeys. They are big and dark and their heads are featherless. This feature in particular is useful for the turkey vulture or “TV.”
It has long been thought the head is bald so the feathers won’t get ruined when it sinks its head into roadkill or other another dead animal, but a research team at the University of Glasgow in Scotland determined that the bald head helps a vulture stay cool and regulate its body temperature.
The image of scavenging vultures isn’t pretty but it doesn’t necessarily get better. To cool down on a hot day these birds will defecate on their feet. The evaporation then causes a heat transfer based on the same principles as humans sweating.
To dry off when wet or to regulate their temperature, vultures can also be seen roosting with their wings held out. This is called the horaltic pose. Other birds such as cormorants and anhingas will sometimes assume a similar posture.
As a defensive move, a turkey vulture might also spew a stream of vomit towards a perceived threat such as another animal. This practice starts at a young age. It is an effective repellant.
Turkey vultures are common from March to November. Unless it is the first sighting of the year, they are unlikely to generate much excitement in the birding community. The range does seem to be expanding slowly too. It might be possible to see this species here in every month of the year.
With some frequency I hear from readers who are dismayed about a local population of vultures. So what about them is good?
I felt pretty blasé about them until I was birding some years ago in the U.S. with Greg Miller, a top American birder. I was really surprised that he was such a fan of these birds. He found everything from their physiology to their behaviour fascinating. I did a bit of a rethink as a result.
These birds are useful! They do clear out a lot of carrion that would otherwise just sit around reeking. In fact the turkey vulture’s Latin name, Cathartes aura, means purifier and air.
And since turkey vultures do migrate, they are particularly interesting to watch in October. Dozens or even hundreds of these birds might be seen together kettling as they take advantage of warm air currents to gain altitude.
Katie Fallon is another bird watcher who admires this misunderstood bird. Her book Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird was published by the University Press of New England earlier this year. She calls the turkey vulture one the world’s most under-appreciated and overlooked birds.
I’m not trying to start a vulture fan club here, but the next time you see a turkey vulture teetering high in the sky with the distinctive dihedral Vshape of its wings, consider giving it a moment’s thought of appreciation.
Nature notes
more southerly than that of the turkey vulture, but they are often seen along the Niagara River. I’ve also seen black vultures at Point Pelee and some black vultures caused a little stir in Port Stanley last December.
granted. Populations of two vulture species in India plummeted between 1993 and 2002 by more than 95 per cent because of a drug that is lethal to them that had found its way into the food chain. The white-rumped vulture is now near extinction.