Turkey Vulture Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesTurkey Vulture
Adult (Northern)
Large with long wings. Black body contrasts with gray flight feathers and tail, and naked bright red head.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 01, 2017Adult (Northern)
Large and black with browner back (especially when worn), naked bright red head, and pale bill and legs.
© Abhishek Kambhampati / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 09, 2017Juvenile (Northern)
Juveniles have an ashy-gray colored naked head.
© Chris Davis / Macaulay LibraryTexas, September 25, 2020Immature (Northern)
Immatures have the naked head dusky red in color.
© Ryan Shaw / Macaulay LibraryTexas, December 29, 2016Adult (Northern)
Flies with a distinctive shallow "V" shape, and teeters side-to-side.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, April 23, 2017Juvenile (Northern)
Juveniles have a dark head, lacking the bright red of adults, but share adults' underwing pattern and shallow V-shaped flight posture.
© George Gibbs / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 21, 2017Adult (Tropical) (with Southern Caracara)
Large and black with bright red naked head and contrasting white collar.
© Ian Thompson / Macaulay LibraryPará, July 20, 2011Adult (Northern)
Will perch with wings spread to dry off, or on cold days.
© Paul Tavares / Macaulay LibraryMatanzas, February 15, 2017Adult (Northern) (with Fish Crow)
Sometimes found with crows at carrion or landfills.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 08, 2017Adult (Northern)
Will flight with other vultures at carrion.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 21, 2017Adult (Northern)
Sometimes roosts communally, sometimes in large groups.
© Jack and Shirley Foreman / Macaulay LibraryMissouri, February 13, 2017Similar SpeciesZone-tailed Hawk
Adult
Zone-tailed Hawks of the southwestern U.S. are similarly shaped and fly with a similar style, but they have light bands in the tail, and a larger, fully feathered head unlike Turkey Vultures, which have an unbanded tail and a bald head.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 04, 2004Similar SpeciesBlack Vulture
Adult
Black Vultures have much shorter tails and they hold their wings nearly flat, unlike a Turkey Vulture’s V-shaped posture. Black Vultures have whitish outer primaries that form a white star near the wingtip, and the rest of the wing is jet black, not two-toned like Turkey Vultures.
© Holly Merker / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, March 19, 2017Similar SpeciesBlack Vulture
Adult
Black Vultures have an unfeathered gray head, whereas Turkey Vultures have a unfeathered red head.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryQuintana Roo, January 12, 2017Similar SpeciesBald Eagle
Adult
Bald Eagles can have a similar dark upperwing and back pattern, but they have feathers on the head, soar steadily on flat wings, and lack the clean, two-toned underwing of Turkey Vultures.
© Steven Mlodinow / Macaulay LibraryColorado, January 10, 2017Similar SpeciesGolden Eagle
Adult
Golden Eagles raise their wings slightly in flight similar to a Turkey Vulture, but they are larger and do not teeter or wobble as they soar like vultures do.
© Jeff Bleam / Macaulay LibraryNevada, April 06, 2017Similar SpeciesRed-tailed Hawk
Adult (borealis)
Red-tailed Hawks are usually pale below, with shorter tails and shorter, broader wings that they hold flat as they soar, not in a V like Turkey Vultures
© Jonathan Eckerson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 18, 2017Search species and articles
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