The typical adult bird is an average 76 cm (30") long with a 185 cm (6 ft) wingspan, and weighing 1.4 kg (3.1 lb). The sexes are similar, with the female being slightly larger. Their body feathers are mostly brownish-black, but the flight feathers on the wings appear silvery-gray beneath, contrasting with the darker wing linings. The adult head is small in proportion to its body, red in color with few to no feathers, and has a relatively short, hooked, ivory-colored bill. The immature bird has a gray head with a black beak tip.

Habitat

The Turkey Vulture is found in open and semi-open areas throughout the Americas from southern Canada to Cape Horn. It is a permanent resident in the southern United States but northern birds may migrate as far south as South America.

The nesting site is in a protected location: on a cliff, directly on ground in caves, crevices, mammal burrows, inside a hollow tree, in a thicket, or in abandoned buildings. There is little or no construction of a nest. Females lay two eggs, cream-colored, with brown spots around their larger end. Both parents incubate, and the young hatch at around 40 days. The adults regurgitate food for them and care for them for 10 to 11 weeks. If the young are approached in the nest, they defend themselves by hissing and regurgitating. The age of the young at first flight is about 9-10 weeks.

Often, small to large groups of these birds spend the night at communal roosts, and favored locations may be reused for many years. 

 Behavior

Turkey Vultures are gentle and non-aggressive. They may roost in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day.

Turkey Vultures are often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. This is called the "horaltic pose." The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria.

The Turkey Vulture has few natural predators. Its primary form of defense is vomiting. These birds do not "projectile vomit," as many would claim. They simply cough up a lump of semi-digested meat. This foul-smelling substance deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the offending animal is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes.

In some cases, the vulture must rid its crop of a heavy, undigested meal in order to lift off and flee from a potential predator. In this case, the regurgitated material has not yet been digested. Most predators will give up pursuit of the vulture in favor of this free edible offering.

Like storks, the Turkey Vulture often defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces and/or urine to cool itself down, a process known as urohydrosis. Also, due to the nature of their diets, vulture excreta has a high uric acid content that acts as a sanitizer, killing any bacteria the birds pick up while traipsing on its food. This allows them a certain tolerance towards microbial toxins (such as botulism) and certain synthetic poisons that have been used to kill coyotes and ground squirrels.

  Interesting facts

The Turkey Vulture usually forages alone, unlike its smaller, more social relative the American Black Vulture. Although one Turkey Vulture can dominate a single Black Vulture at a carcass, usually such a large number of Black Vultures appear that they can overwhelm a solitary Turkey Vulture and monopolize any available food.

Circling vultures do not necessarily indicate the presence of a carcass, but may in fact be gaining altitude for long flights, searching for food, or playing.

A group of vultures is typically called a "venue," while vultures circling in the air are a "kettle."

Vultures have excellent eyesight but, like many other birds, poor vision in the dark.

This bird is said to be the most damaging to aircraft in birdstrikes as rated by the Smithsonian Institution's Feather Identification Laboratory.