And they all have bald heads, which helps them keep clean while feeding on carrion.Ī turkey vulture is a large bird in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae. They have sharp beaks and claws, which they use to tear apart their prey. They are all large birds with broad wingspans. There are many dfferent species of buzzards and vultures, but they all share some common features. The scientific name for this family is Accipitridae. Yes, buzzards and vultures are in the same family. Are Buzzards And Vultures In The Same Family? Finally, vultures tend to have weaker stomach acids than buzzards, which helps them digest rotting flesh. Additionally, buzzards have stronger beaks and talons than vultures, since they typically kill their own prey. Vultures are bald, while buzzards have a full head of feathers. The most obvious difference between a buzzard and a vulture is the presence of feathers on the head. How Can You Tell A Buzzard From A Vulture? Buzzards are medium to large sized birds of prey that are found in all parts of the world except Antarctica and Australia. Vultures are large scavenging birds that are found in all parts of the world except Antarctica. The head is red on adult Turkey Vultures, and dark gray on immature Turkey Vultures and all Black Vultures.No, vultures and buzzards are not the same. Let's review the major field marks and compare the most useful features for distinguishing Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures. They also often fly in groups, and the two vulture species will mix. They also flap relatively frequently compared to Turkey Vultures. You almost get the impression that they think they're about to fall out of the sky. These are typical postures for Black Vultures compared to the steeper dihedral of Turkey Vultures.īlack Vultures have a flap that is quick and somewhat frantic. The vulture on the right is holding its wings flat. The left one is holding its wings in a shallow V that flattens out, also called a modified dihedral. The typical flight posture for Black Vulture is either flat or a modified dihedral (which is a shallow V-shape that flattens out as you get towards the wingtips). Adults often show a jagged appearance to the trailing edge of the wings due to replacing wing feathers, and retaining older worn feathers.ĭark head, black body, silvery wingtips, and a short tail Black Vulture Flight Characteristics Young Turkey Vultures have gray heads and the juveniles in late summer and fall migration have a clean appearance because of the feathers being pretty fresh and uniform in age. When seen up close, they appear to have rather large "nostrils" that you can see through from the side. When one is going away from you, sometimes the head and neck look larger and in poor lighting you might mistake this for the head of an eagle, so just be aware of that. And of course, the head tends to look pretty small because of the lack of feathers. Immatures have a darker head, so be careful relying on head color as the key identifying feature. They have a relatively long and rounded tail.Īdult Turkey Vultures have a reddish head and pale gray/white bill. Although you'll typically see this species from underneath, on the occasions where you see the upperside, it is more uniformly dark with primarily black and brown, without the silvery color seen on the underside of the flight feathers. Specifically, their body and underwing coverts are dark but the flight feathers of the wings and tail are silvery. Turkey Vultures are quite large (nearly eagle-sized) and their overall color pattern can be summed up as dark vs light. Rough-legged Hawk, for example, has a circumpolar range and is called Rough-legged Buzzard in the eurasian part of the range. Vultures are often colloquially called buzzards, but it is best to avoid using that nickname, because the true buzzard family is the Old World equivalent to our Buteo family of hawks (e.g., Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, etc.). No raptor identification guide would be complete without their inclusion. The New World vultures aren't actually closely related to raptors, but are typically lumped in with them for identification purposes, since their size and flight behavior is similar to raptors - especially eagles. Keep reading for a overview of identifying them or jump down right to the simple feature-by-feature comparison of the two species. And although separating them is far from the hardest bird ID challenge, there are still some things to watch out for that could trip you up. However, there are two different species to consider: Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture. due to their large size, generally dark appearance, and featherless heads. Vultures as a family group are fairly easily recognizable in the eastern U.S.
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