How to Identify a Vulture

Vultures are infamous for their role in the natural world. When an animal dies vultures smell it from a distance and soon the forest's airborne cleanup crew arrives. Turkey vultures are found throughout North America where they carry out the essential role of a scavenger. Black vultures have a smaller range; they are only found in the Southwest U.S., Texas and Central America. Here's how to identify them.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Check for a vulture's well-adapted head. Vultures don't have feathers on their heads to minimize the spread of infection when consuming rotten flesh. Turkey vulture's have red heads and black vultures have black heads.

2. Estimate the bird's size. You can identify a turkey vulture by its large size, roughly two feet in length with a five to six foot wingspan.

3. Narrow down the possible species by looking at the feathers for colors other than black. If you live in condor territory in California, white markings on the outer wings could mean you are seeing one of the rarest birds in the world. Turkey vultures do have lighter colored feathers on the underside of their wings.

4. Observe the bird in flight. Identify turkey vultures by the way they fly with their wings angled upward, creating a V with their body. Black vultures soar with their wings horizontal or close to it. When it is flying, you can see the black vultures distinctive gray primary feathers. These six fingers resemble the fingers on a hand. Turkey vultures have primary feathers as well, but they have the same color pattern as any other feathers.

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