Turkey Vulture Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesTurkey Vulture
Adult (Northern)
Large with long wings. Black body contrasts with gray flight feathers and tail, and naked bright red head.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 01, 2017Adult (Northern)
Large and black with browner back (especially when worn), naked bright red head, and pale bill and legs.
© Abhishek Kambhampati / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 09, 2017Adults (Northern) with Black Vultures
Large brown vulture with small, bare red head. In good light or at close range both brown plumage and red head separate Turkey Vulture from Black Vulture (left).
© Matthew D. Medler / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, October 28, 2014Juvenile (Northern)
Juveniles have an ashy-gray colored naked head.
© Chris Davis / Macaulay LibraryTexas, September 25, 2020Immature (Northern)
Immatures have the naked head dusky red in color.
© Ryan Shaw / Macaulay LibraryTexas, December 29, 2016Adult
Note two-toned wing pattern with lighter trailing edge, fairly long tail, and teetering flight style. Soars with wings raised slightly (known as "dihedral") and rarely flaps. Red head can be hard to see.
© Eric Liner / Macaulay LibrarySantiago de Cuba, April 01, 2007Adult (Northern)
Flies with a distinctive shallow "V" shape, and teeters side-to-side.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, April 23, 2017Juvenile (Northern)
Juveniles have a dark head, lacking the bright red of adults, but share adults' underwing pattern and shallow V-shaped flight posture.
© George Gibbs / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 21, 2017Flock
Soars on thermals, often circling in groups known as "kettles." Note dihedral (raised wings) and distinctive teetering style of soaring.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, March 25, 2015Adult (Tropical) (with Southern Caracara)
Large and black with bright red naked head and contrasting white collar.
© Ian Thompson / Macaulay LibraryPará, July 20, 2011Adult (Northern)
Will perch with wings spread to dry off, or on cold days.
© Paul Tavares / Macaulay LibraryMatanzas, February 15, 2017Flock
Roosts communally and warms up in the morning by facing the sun, spreading wings, and standing still for extended periods.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryMay 01, 1999Adult (Northern) (with Fish Crow)
Sometimes found with crows at carrion or landfills.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 08, 2017Adult (Northern)
Will flight with other vultures at carrion.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 21, 2017Adult (Northern)
Sometimes roosts communally, sometimes in large groups.
© Jack and Shirley Foreman / Macaulay LibraryMissouri, February 13, 2017Similar SpeciesZone-tailed Hawk
Adult
Zone-tailed Hawks of the southwestern U.S. are similarly shaped and fly with a similar style, but they have light bands in the tail, and a larger, fully feathered head unlike Turkey Vultures, which have an unbanded tail and a bald head.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 04, 2004Similar SpeciesBlack Vulture
Adult
Black Vultures have much shorter tails and they hold their wings nearly flat, unlike a Turkey Vulture’s V-shaped posture. Black Vultures have whitish outer primaries that form a white star near the wingtip, and the rest of the wing is jet black, not two-toned like Turkey Vultures.
© Holly Merker / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, March 19, 2017Similar SpeciesBlack Vulture
Adult
Black Vultures have an unfeathered gray head, whereas Turkey Vultures have a unfeathered red head.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryQuintana Roo, January 12, 2017Similar SpeciesBald Eagle
Adult
Bald Eagles can have a similar dark upperwing and back pattern, but they have feathers on the head, soar steadily on flat wings, and lack the clean, two-toned underwing of Turkey Vultures.
© Steven Mlodinow / Macaulay LibraryColorado, January 10, 2017Similar SpeciesGolden Eagle
Adult
Golden Eagles raise their wings slightly in flight similar to a Turkey Vulture, but they are larger and do not teeter or wobble as they soar like vultures do.
© Jeff Bleam / Macaulay LibraryNevada, April 06, 2017Similar SpeciesRed-tailed Hawk
Adult (borealis)
Red-tailed Hawks are usually pale below, with shorter tails and shorter, broader wings that they hold flat as they soar, not in a V like Turkey Vultures
© Jonathan Eckerson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 18, 2017Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
New World Vultures(Order: Cathartiformes, Family: Cathartidae)
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