Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura. Photos taken on location in Los Cabos Baja California Sur.

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura. Photograph taken in the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, July 2017. Photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura. Bird photographed in Parque National Huatulco, Huatulco, Oaxaca, March 2021. Photograph and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura. Birds photographed on the beach in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, March 2021. Photographs and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura aura, is one of four subspecies of Turkey Vulture, and the only subspecies found in Mexico. They are a member of the Cathartidae Family of New World Vultures, which has seven-nine members placed in five genera, and one of three global species of the Cathartes Genus. They are are also known as the Turkey Buzzard and in Mexico as aura gallipavo.

The Turkey Vulture is large in stature. The sexes are similar in appearance with the males being slightly larger than the females. They are entirely black in color except the ventral surfaces of remiges are silver gray. Their head is unfeathered and red. Their bill is ivory, relatively short and hooked with prominent perforated nares. They have small heads and long wings.

The Turkey Vulture are found in coastal areas along the cliffs and frequenting the beach and farmland with pasture with abundant carrion close to undisturbed forested areas for perching, roosting, and nesting. They consume amphibians, birds, invertebrates, mammals including dead farm animals, reptiles including road-kill snakes, and rotting fruits and vegetables. They nest in dark recesses beneath boulders, on cliff ledges, in hollow trees, logs, and stumps, and in abandoned buildings. They have a keen sense of smell and are almost exclusively a scavenger and normally forage as solitary individuals that attract others when they locate prey. They roost in communes that can range from a few individuals to groups up to several thousand. They have life spans of eighteen years.

The Turkey Vulture is most likely confused with the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Cathartes burrovianus (Atlantic Slope species; yellow-orange or yellow head) and the Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus (dark gray head).

In Mexico the Turkey Vulture is a common year-round, with a few exceptions being a non-migratory, resident and found throughout the country.

From a conservation perspective the Turkey Vulture is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable or increasing, widely distributed populations. They are very tolerant of human developments but are known to suffer from the accumulation of pesticide and lead. They are known to be a major hazard to military aircraft. Believed by most to be a beneficial scavenger, however they are poisoned shot, and trapped in some regions as they are believed to be a potential carrier of livestock diseases. They are also falsely accused of preying and the weak and newborn livestock.