the bird, which is third
in the order of classification: animali-chordata-aves-ciconiiformes-cathartidae-cathartes-
cathartes auraOr, simply, the turkey vulture. Peculiar little things, really. On the extinction spectrum it's rated with a quick mark of 'least concern,' so I guess if we lose this one we can just find another.
wink Or not, you know. It's really not related to other vultures and anything like hawks - it's closer to storks.
Storks. Babies from hell, I assume.
We call it the turkey vulture namely because of its head and face, which are all red and funky like a turkey's. Its feathers are a dark brown, similar to the turkey as well, but when it flies, it shows its flight fleathers, which reflect silver in the light. Of course this doesn't make it necessarily graceful - it's noted to 'tip drunkenly' in flight, its six-foot wingspan held in the shape of a V.
Like I said, peculiar bird: it searches for food by using its sense of smell, though it hunts less and picks off of the recently dead more often. And, oddly, it would like its recently dead to be herbivores, sort of like that annoying girl at school who claims to be a vegitarian punk when she's just a wannabe goth. Oh, personal life! They'll eat any sort of size of dead veggie-eaters and also eat the veggies themselves. Their parents must be proud.
Voice. Ok, so I missed this one. Shoot me. They don't have one. "Turkey vultures, like most other vultures, have very few vocalization capabilities. With no vocal organ, they can only utter hisses and grunts. They usually hiss when they feel threatened. Grunts are commonly heard from hungry young, and adults in courtship."
Behavior. I'm lazy, shoot me again. "Turkey Vultures are gentle and non-aggressive. They may roost in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day.
Turkey Vultures are often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. This is called the "horaltic pose." The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria.
The Turkey Vulture has few natural predators. Its primary form of defense is vomiting. These birds do not "projectile vomit," as many would claim. They simply cough up a lump of semi-digested meat. This foul-smelling substance deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the offending animal 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 lift off and flee from a potential predator. In this case, the regurgitated material has not yet been digested. Most predators will give up pursuit of the vulture in favor of this free edible offering.
Like its stork relatives, the Turkey Vulture often defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces and/or urine to cool itself down, a process known as urohydrosis. Also, due to the nature of their diets, vulture excreta has a high uric acid content that acts as a sanitizer, killing any bacteria the birds pick up while traipsing on its food. This allows them a certain tolerance towards microbial toxins (such as botulism) and certain synthetic poisons that have been used to kill coyotes and ground squirrels."
THANK YOU,
MR KNOW-IT-ALL WIKIPEDIA.~
A group of vultures is typically called a "venue," while vultures circling in the air are a "kettle." :O
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