[2] 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.

[3] 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.

"[8] The turkey vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult's bald red head and dark plumage to that of the male wild turkey, while the name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus, meaning "tearer", and is a reference to its feeding habits.

As of 2022[update], there is one captive bird over 48 years old: a male named Lord Richard that lives at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek, California.

Lord Richard hatched in 1974 at Randall Museum in San Francisco and arrived at Lindsay Wildlife later that year.

[26][45] This species can be seen over open country, including grasslands but are often absent from completely treeless areas such as some parts of the prairies or Great Plains.

[53] The turkey vulture is gregarious and roosts in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day.

The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria.

[6] 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, a process known as urohidrosis.

[54] It cools the blood vessels in the unfeathered tarsi and feet, and causes white uric acid to streak the legs.

Fledging, immature and adult vultures, in descending likelihood of predation, may fall prey to great horned owls, golden eagles, bald eagles and potentially red-tailed hawks, while eggs and nestlings may be preyed on by mammals such as raccoons and opossums.

[59] Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance, which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest.

In some cases, the vulture must rid its crop of a heavy, undigested meal to take flight to flee from a potential predator.

It requires a great deal of effort to take flight, flapping its wings while pushing off the ground and hopping with its feet.

[47] Eggs are generally laid in the nesting site in a protected location such as a cliff, a cave, a rock crevice, a burrow, inside a hollow tree, or in a thicket.

The turkey vulture feeds primarily on a wide variety of carrion, from small mammals (such as mice and shrews) to large grazers (such as ungulates), preferring those recently dead, and avoiding carcasses that have reached the point of putrefaction.

[47][68][67] In South America, turkey vultures have been photographed feeding on the fruits of the introduced oil palm.

[69][70][71] They rarely, if ever, kill prey themselves; when they do it tends to comprise small weak offspring or very sick individuals of various animals, such as bird eggs and nestlings, as well as reptiles.

[72][73][74][75] Turkey vultures have also been observed eating coyote, sea lion and domestic animal dung.

[76]The turkey vulture forages by smell, an ability that is uncommon in the avian world, often flying low to the ground to pick up the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals.

This allows the smaller, weaker-billed turkey vulture access to food, because it cannot tear the tough hides of larger animals on its own.

Often these raptors tend to engage in dive-bombing or other intimidation displays towards the vulture(s) to displace them from carrion or from perch sites.

[84] The turkey vulture is sometimes accused of carrying anthrax or hog cholera, both livestock diseases, on its feet or bill by cattle ranchers and is therefore occasionally perceived as a threat.

[42] However, the virus that causes hog cholera is destroyed when it passes through the turkey vulture's digestive tract.

[34] This species also may be perceived as a threat by farmers due to the similar black vulture's tendency to attack and kill newborn cattle.

Nonetheless, its appearance at a location where a calf has been killed gives the incorrect impression that the turkey vulture represents a danger to calves.

[88] In the US it is illegal to take, kill, or possess turkey vultures, their eggs, and any body parts including but not limited to their feathers; violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 for individuals or $200,000 for organizations, and/or a prison term of 1 year.

Populations appear to remain stable, and it has not reached the threshold of inclusion as a threatened species, which requires a decline of more than 30 percent in 10 years or three generations.