The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is a widely distributed scavenger and the largest raptor regularly seen soaring across the Americas. Its characteristic flight pattern, holding its long wings in a slight “V” shape, makes it a familiar sight as it searches for carrion. A common question is whether this large bird constructs a traditional nest high in a tree, as its breeding practices differ significantly from many other birds of prey.
Preferred Breeding Locations
Turkey Vultures do not build large stick nests high in the open canopy of a tree. Instead, they choose concealed, sheltered locations that prioritize security and darkness. They prefer a protected cavity or recess where the eggs are shielded from weather and predators.
These breeding sites often include the secluded interiors of hollow logs or stumps, deep rock crevices, or small caves and ledges along cliffsides. They also utilize dense thickets on the ground that provide cover and isolation. Near human habitation, abandoned buildings, barns, or discarded machinery can serve as suitable, isolated spots. The chosen location is almost always cool and dark, often measuring significantly lower in temperature than the surrounding environment.
Why Turkey Vultures Do Not Build Nests
A key difference between the Turkey Vulture and other large birds is its lack of nest construction. Unlike species that gather sticks, grass, and leaves to build a complex structure, the vulture requires minimal preparation. This absence of traditional building behavior defines its breeding ecology.
The female simply lays her eggs directly on the substrate, such as bare dirt, detritus, or rotting wood found at the bottom of the chosen cavity. Parents may scrape a shallow depression or push aside leaf litter to clear a space. This minimal effort means their breeding site is less a “nest” and more a protected platform, focusing on concealment rather than structural engineering.
Appearance of Eggs and Hatchlings
The typical clutch size for a Turkey Vulture is two eggs, though a pair may occasionally produce a single egg, and rarely three. These eggs are distinctively patterned, featuring a creamy white or pale greenish base color. They are marked with irregular blotches and spots of brown, reddish-brown, or lavender, often concentrated near the larger end.
Both parents share incubation duties, which lasts 30 to 41 days. The young hatchlings are altricial, meaning they are helpless at birth, and are covered in dense, fluffy white down. Parents feed the nestlings by regurgitating food, and the young remain dependent for a long duration. They fledge between 9 and 12 weeks of age, relying on the adults for food for a short time after leaving the breeding site.