Cathartes aura
Silhouette: Jan Sevcik (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
Like all New World vultures, it is not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, the two groups strongly resemble each other due to convergent evolution. The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the early stages of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Wikipedia →
Furnarius rufus0:13
Argentina · 2022
© Guillermo Treboux · XC748979 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:07
United States · 2024
© rj-that-scout · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:19
United States · 2026
© m · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Maracaibo | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 7 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Turkey Vulture sighting in Sacramento on a given day, based on 8,255 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 235 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June, September and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Turkey Vulture in Sacramento on a given day, against about 40% in January and February, the lowest months. Those are among Sacramento's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in December.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Turkey Vulture sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 87
Of the 87 cities where we can rate Turkey Vulture sightings, Sacramento ranks 4th at about 50%. The best odds are in Havana (Cuba, about 80%), Barranquilla (Colombia, about 50%) and Arequipa (Peru, about 50%).
Same order: Accipitriformes
The closest relatives of the Turkey Vulture that you can see in Sacramento (order Accipitriformes, Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies) are Red-shouldered Hawk (about 40%), Red-tailed Hawk (about 20%) and Osprey (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Turkey Vulture is recorded against all the birds logged in Sacramento (8,255 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
