Illinois’ Turkey Vultures: Things You May Not Know About Them

Unless you grew up in Alaska or Hawaii, you've probably seen turkey vultures multiple times throughout your life, especially here in Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Turkey vultures can be found in every single state in the lower 48.

With a wingspan of nearly 6 feet, you'd think they'd be the largest bird in the state of Illinois, but they're actually Illinois' fifth-largest:

1. American White Pelican
2. Golden Eagle
3. Bald Eagle
4. Sandhill Crane
5. Turkey Vulture

They're sometimes called "Turkey Buzzards," but they're not buzzards. According to HowStuffWorks.com, "buzzard" describes raptors like red-tailed hawks:

These soaring, predatory birds — such as the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) — are often called "buzzards" in the Old World, especially England. The common buzzard (Buteo buteo), for instance, is a hawk common to Europe and parts of Asia.

Early settlers in the Americas imported the word buzzard and used it to refer to other large, soaring birds, especially the turkey vulture. The name stuck, and so in North America especially, "buzzard" often refers to a vulture, not a hawk.

The other difference is that buzzards hunt small animals, but vultures feed on carrion (dead animals) and they're pretty gross about it.

With A Global Population Estimated To Be Just Short Of 20 Million, There's No Shortage Of Turkey Vultures In Illinois, Even Though You Usually Only See Them Making Circles In The Sky Overhead

I'm writing this because my wife and I were watching a couple of turkey vultures patrolling the skies over our neighborhood the other day and we both realized that we knew next to nothing about them (even though we've seen them since childhood).

So, in no particular order, here are some facts about Illinois' turkey vultures that we (and maybe you) didn't know:

• They're the only vulture with a highly-developed sense of smell. A turkey vulture can smell rotting meat from 8 miles away at a height of over 1,000 feet.
• Adult turkey vultures weigh between 2-5 pounds, but have a wingspan of up to 6 feet.

• Migrating turkey vultures arrive in Illinois in February and hang around until November. Some will over-winter in southern Illinois, but many head south into Texas and Central America before returning here.
• Turkey vultures can live up to 20 years in the wild.
• Turkey vultures have bald heads to keep the rotting meat they eat from soiling their feathers. They also have large nostrils that can become clogged with food, which the vulture will then pick out using its talons (they actually pick their noses).
• If faced with a predator, a turkey vulture will projectile-vomit at them as a defense mechanism.
• They urinate on their own legs to help keep themselves cool in very hot weather.
• Turkey vultures can easily fly over 200 miles in a single day using drafts and air currents to save their energy.

One more note: turkey vultures will not attack children, small dogs or cats, since they only eat dead things.