Turkey vultures are common birds of prey, recognized by their dark plumage and distinctive featherless, reddish heads. These widespread birds, found from southern Canada to the tip of South America, are known for their unique dietary habits. This article explores what turkey vultures eat and the remarkable ways they locate their meals.
Their Primary Food Source: Carrion
Turkey vultures primarily consume carrion, the decaying flesh of dead animals. Their highly acidic stomach fluids, 10 to 100 times stronger than most vertebrates, neutralize harmful bacteria and toxins like botulism, anthrax, salmonella, and cholera, allowing them to safely digest their food. Their bald heads prevent bits of flesh and bacteria from clinging to feathers while feeding deep within carcasses.
Turkey vultures are opportunistic feeders, consuming a wide range of available carcasses. Their diet includes small mammals like mice, shrews, and squirrels, as well as larger livestock such as cows and deer. They also feed on dead birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, often found as roadkill or washed ashore. While they prefer freshly deceased animals, they can handle various stages of decomposition, often waiting for the carcass to soften for easier access.
How They Locate Their Meals
Turkey vultures possess an exceptional sense of smell, a rare trait among birds, which is their primary method for finding food. They have an enlarged olfactory lobe in their brain, allowing them to detect the specific gases produced by decaying flesh, such as ethyl mercaptan. This acute sense enables them to locate carcasses even when hidden beneath dense forest canopies. Their ability to smell mercaptan is so precise that gas companies historically added this substance to natural gas pipelines, observing where vultures congregated to identify leaks.
While smell is primary, turkey vultures also use their keen eyesight. They soar high, using thermal air currents to conserve energy while scanning the landscape below for larger carcasses. They often observe other scavengers, like black vultures, which rely more on sight, and will follow them to a food source. This combination of superior olfaction and visual cues ensures efficient food discovery.
Dietary Exceptions and Rarities
While carrion constitutes almost their entire diet, turkey vultures rarely consume other food items. They prey on live animals only in rare circumstances, such as when the animal is already sick, injured, or very weak. Instances of turkey vultures killing healthy live prey are uncommon, and such reports are sometimes misidentified black vultures, which are more aggressive hunters.
On occasion, turkey vultures consume plant matter, including pumpkins, grapes, juniper berries, or other rotting fruits. These instances are infrequent, occurring when traditional carrion sources are scarce. Other rare dietary inclusions include live insects, frogs, or fish stranded in shallow water.
Their Vital Role in Ecosystems
Turkey vultures perform an important function in ecosystems, often called nature’s clean-up crew. By consuming dead animals, they prevent the accumulation of decaying carcasses, which helps control the spread of diseases and harmful bacteria.
This scavenging behavior significantly contributes to environmental hygiene and public health. The rapid removal of carcasses by vultures also helps recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. Their actions also reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that would be released from decaying organic matter if carcasses were left to decompose naturally.