katescabinbirdsanctuaryintexas: TURKEY BUZZARD WINTER HOME (A HOME SWEET HOME PHOTO BLOG)

Hi Everybody!!
The great Fall Migration of Birds has everybody just about in place in their winter homes. (Still waiting on a couple of wayward "Canadian Geese"). Anyway, the Turkey Buzzards that come here every year are all in their places with bright cherry-red faces! Numbers are down all over the State for migratory birds. Tonight, for your viewing pleasure: I have taught the buzzards to wave for the camera to raise awareness for Migratory Birds. Please take a moment to inform yourself about the Migration and teach your children. We have got to stop people from killing birds with education.
Once You get to know them, birds are really fun to hang out with! I love my Buzzards! Enjoy!

Pecking Order: King Buzz on Top!

****Link to extended photostudy in my G+Album Gallery:

https://plus.google.com/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5947961678998591649

Excerpt from Wikipedia. See Link for complete Article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_Vulture

Description[edit]

A large bird, it has a wingspan of 160–183 cm (63–72 in), a length of 62–81 cm (24–32 in), and weight of 0.8 to 2.3 kg (1.8 to 5.1 lb).^[22]^[23]^[24] While birds in the Northern limit of the species' range average around 2 kg (4.4 lb), vulture from the neotropics are generally smaller, averaging around 1.45 kg (3.2 lb).^[25]^[26] It displays minimal sexual dimorphism; sexes are identical in plumage and in coloration, although the female is slightly larger.^[27] The body feathers are mostly brownish-black, but the flight feathers on the wings appear to be silvery-gray beneath, contrasting with the darker wing linings.^[22] The adult's head is small in proportion to its body and is red in color with few to no feathers. It also has a relatively short, hooked, ivory-colored beak.^[28] The irises of the eyes are gray-brown; legs and feet are pink-skinned, although typically stained white. The eye has a single incomplete row of eyelashes on the upper lid and two rows on the lower lid.^[29]

The two front toes of the foot are long and have small webs at their bases.^[30] Tracks are large, between 9.5 and 14 cm (3.7 and 5.5 in) in length and 8.2 and 10.2 cm (3.2 and 4.0 in) in width, both measurements including claw marks. Toes are arranged in the classic, anisodactyl pattern.^[31] The feet are flat, relatively weak, and poorly adapted to grasping; the talons are also not designed for grasping, as they are relatively blunt.^[3] In flight, the tail is long and slim. The Black Vulture is relatively shorter-tailed and shorter-winged, which makes it appear rather smaller in flight than the Turkey vulture, although the body masses of the two species are roughly the same. The nostrils are not divided by a septum, but rather are perforate; from the side one can see through the beak.^[32] It undergoes a molt in late winter to early spring. It is a gradual molt, which lasts until early autumn.^[6] The immature bird has a gray head with a black beak tip; the colors change to those of the adult as the bird matures.^[33] How long turkey vultures can live in captivity is not well known. While 21 years is generally given as a maximum age, the Gabbert Raptor Center on the University of Minnesota campus is home to a turkey vulture named Nero with a confirmed age of 37.^{[clarification needed]} There is another female bird, named Richard, living at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, CA that hatched in 1974 and arrived at the museum later that year.^[34] The oldest wild captured banded bird was 16 years old.^[4]

Leucistic (sometimes mistakenly called "albino") Turkey Vultures are sometimes seen.^[35] The well-documented records come from the United States of America, but this probably reflects the fact that such birds are more commonly reported by birders there, rather than a geographical variation. Even in the United States, white Turkey Vultures (although they presumably always turned up every now and then) were only discussed in birder and raptor conservation circles and are not scientifically studied.^[36]

The Turkey Vulture, like most other vultures, has very few vocalization capabilities. Because it lacks a syrinx, it can only utter hisses and grunts.^[5] It usually hisses when it feels threatened. Grunts are commonly heard from hungry young and from adults in their courtship display.

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The Turkey Vulture has a large range, with an estimated global occurrence of 28,000,000 km² (11,000,000 sq mi). It is the most abundant vulture in the Americas.^[3] Its global population is estimated to be 4,500,000 individuals.^[1] It is found in open and semi-open areas throughout the Americas from southern Canada to Cape Horn. It is a permanent resident in the southern United States, though northern birds may migrate as far south as South America.^[4] The Turkey Vulture is widespread over open country, subtropical forests, shrublands, deserts, and foothills.^[37] It is also found in pastures, grasslands, and wetlands.^[1] It is most commonly found in relatively open areas which provide nearby woods for nesting and it generally avoids heavily forested areas.^[22]

This bird with its crow-like aspect gave foot to the naming of the Quebrada de los Cuervos (Crows Ravine) in Uruguay, where they dwell together with the lesser yellow-headed vulture and the black vulture.^[38]

Ecology and behavior[edit]

Spread-winged adult

The Turkey Vulture is gregarious and roosts in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. Several hundred vultures may roost communally in groups which sometimes even include Black Vultures. It roosts on dead, leafless trees, and will also roost on man-made structures such as water or microwave towers. Though it nests in caves, it does not enter them except during the breeding season.^[6] The Turkey Vulture lowers its night-time body temperature by about 6 degrees Celsius to 34 °C(93 °F), becoming slightly hypothermic.^[30]

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. This same behavior is displayed by other New World vultures, by Old World vultures, and by storks.^[7] Like storks, the Turkey Vulture often defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces and/or urine to cool itself, a process known as urohidrosis.^[39] It cools the blood vessels in the unfeathered tarsi and feet, and causes white uric acid to streak the legs.^[40] The Turkey Vulture has few natural predators. Adult, immature and fledging vultures may fall prey to golden eagles, bald eagles and great horned owls, while eggs and nestlings may be preyed on by mammals such as raccoons, virginia opossum and foxes.^[7]^[23] Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest.^[6] It will also sting if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes. In some cases, the vulture must rid its crop of a heavy, undigested meal in order to take flight to flee from a potential predator.^[28] Its life expectancy in the wild ranges upward of 16 years, with a captive life span of over 30 years being possible.^[41]^[42]

The Turkey Vulture is awkward on the ground with an ungainly, hopping walk. It requires a great deal of effort to take flight, flapping its wings while pushing off the ground and hopping with its feet.^[28] While soaring, the Turkey Vulture holds its wings in a shallow V-shape and often tips from side to side, frequently causing the gray flight feathers to appear silvery as they catch the light. The flight of the Turkey Vulture is an example of static soaring flight, in which it flaps its wings very infrequently, and takes advantage of risingthermals to stay soaring.^[43]