The following poster was created by Ella MacQuisten for Wild Wise Sooke. Click on the poster to see the original, larger sized work. For your reading convenience, the text is printed out below.

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

Conservation status: Low Concern

The genus name “Cathartes” means “purifier”, which described their roles as environmental cleaners

Fun & Foul Facts:

• Their preferred method of defense is regurgitation
• To cool off, they will sometimes defecate on their own legs
• Mercapton is a gas released from carrion (dead animals) that turkey vultures can smell from over 1.5km away!
• They have the largest olfactory system of all birds!

Some populations are resident, but some northern breeders migrate long distances to overwinter in Central and South Americas!

East Sooke Park is a great place to see these birds soaring high in the sky during fall migration

The featherless redhead keeps the turkey vulture carrion-free and clean when diving headfirst into its meal!

See other posters by Ella MacQuisten

• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Turkey Vulture
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Steller Jay
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: River Otter
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Vaux Swift
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Northern Saw-whet Owl
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Marbled Murrelet
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Purple Martin
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Barn Owl
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Pacific Great Blue Heron
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Painted Turtle
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Rufous Hummingbird

WildWise Sooke