Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are large, carrion-eating birds found throughout most of North and South America. They are easily recognizable by their large wingspan, bald red heads, and habit of circling overhead in groups. But what exactly do we call a group of turkey vultures? Read on to learn more about the collective nouns used for these intriguing birds.
The Basics on Turkey Vultures
Before diving into group names, let’s review some key facts about turkey vultures:
- Turkey vultures are scavengers that feast mainly on the carcasses of dead animals. Unlike other vultures, turkey vultures have a keen sense of smell that allows them to detect gasses emitted by decaying bodies from up to a mile away.
- They have red, featherless heads which they keep clean by urohidrosis – defecating on their legs and feet and using evaporation for cooling. This also kills bacteria accumulated from stepping in rotting carcasses.
- Turkey vultures range in length from 25-32 inches, with wingspans around 5-6 feet. They weigh 4 to 5 pounds.
- These birds soar the skies in loose flocks, effortlessly riding thermals and updrafts with their distinctive dihedral wing shape.
- Turkey vultures breed in dark recesses like caves, crevices, and hollow logs. The female typically lays 2 eggs which hatch after about 38 days.
- They inhabit a variety of open and semi-open habitats from subtropical forests to shrublands, savannas, and deserts. Turkey vultures thrive in areas near human activity as carrion becomes more available.
- These vultures range across the Americas from Canada through to South America and the Falkland Islands. They are widespread and common, but face threats from habitat loss, poisoning, and lead ammunition.
What is a Group of Turkey Vultures Called?
Turkey vultures are highly social birds that roost and feed together in large numbers. Here are some of the terms used to describe a group of turkey vultures:
- Kettle – This is the most commonly used term for a group of turkey vultures, especially when they are seen circling and soaring overhead.
- Venue – An older collective noun that refers to a group of vultures in flight.
- Volt – Another word for a group of vultures in flight derived from “voltage”, referring to their sudden spiraling movements.
- Committee – An amusing term for a group of vultures on the ground, sitting in trees, or perched together.
- Wake – A collective noun used for a group of vultures that are feeding together on a carcass.
- Guild – This refers to the communal roosting flocks of turkey vultures.
The terms kettle, venue, and volt are all used interchangeably when describing massive spiraling flocks of turkey vultures riding the air currents overhead. The largest kettle ever recorded contained over 5,000 vultures!
Roosts and communal night-time perches are known as guilds, where dozens or hundreds of turkey vultures gather to rest together. They also form forage in groups called wakes when feeding on carrion. Seeing the heads of many vultures bobbing up and down while clustered over a meal is a unique sight.
Why Do Turkey Vultures Form Groups?
Turkey vultures are highly gregarious and form flocks for multiple reasons:
- Foraging efficiency – Scavenging as a group improves foraging success. More vultures can cover more ground and spot food sources from greater distances.
- Predator protection – In numbers, turkey vultures can better watch for potential threats from predators or humans.
- Thermoregulation – Huddling together overnight helps turkey vultures retain body heat.
- Social benefits – Group living facilitates social bonding, mating opportunities, and learning between vultures.
- Soaring assistance – Vultures use updrafts created by nearby flock members during flight, allowing them to better soar and glide.
Forming flocks provides turkey vultures with many benefits. The sight of them swirling overhead or massing at carcasses shows their highly gregarious nature.
Notable Turkey Vulture Gatherings
Some particularly remarkable gatherings of turkey vultures demonstrate their strong flocking tendencies:
- Each autumn, over 100,000 turkey vultures descend along the Kittatinny Ridge in northwest New Jersey. The birds converge in the area to roost together and take advantage of wind patterns before migrating further south.
- A large communal roost forms from November to March each year in Hinckley, Ohio. The roost grows to 15,000-25,000 vultures clustering together in trees to sleep at night.
- Hundreds of vultures frequently come together at the Conowingo Dam in Maryland where fish and injured eagles provide abundant food. Up to 1,500 vultures have been counted there at one time.
- In other areas like Atlanta, Georgia, some large roosts have caused problems due to droppings and noise issues. Vulture effigies, pyrotechnics, and other deterrents are sometimes used to displace roosts away from homes.
These enormous gatherings illustrate the highly social nature of turkey vultures. Seeing hundreds or thousands at once circulating overhead or in a darkened roost is an unforgettable sight.
Interesting Facts About Turkey Vulture Groups
Here are some additional fascinating facts about turkey vulture flocks and behavior:
- Juvenile turkey vultures spend time in communal roosts and follow adults to learn foraging behaviors and social dynamics.
- Turkey vultures preen each other around the head and neck at communal roosts, strengthening social bonds.
- In flight, turkey vultures carefully coordinate when and where in a kettle they position themselves to ride air currents and ascend using orographic lift.
- Larger turkey vulture flocks are better at locating carcasses but also more competitive when feeding.
- Kettles of turkey vultures will form long undulating lines in the sky or interlocking chains known as “vortex streets”.
- Turkey vultures roost in highly specific habitats and locations, returning to the same sites year after year.
The impressive aerial displays, complex social behaviors, and communal habits of turkey vultures are fascinating to observe in the wild.
Turkey Vulture Conservation Status
Although still common, turkey vulture populations face growing threats in parts of their range. Conservation efforts aim to preserve these important scavengers.
- Turkey vultures are classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their extensive range and large populations provide resiliency.
- However, the species has suffered population declines in some areas, including California where numbers dropped by 50% from 1984 to 2014.
- Habitat loss, poaching, lead poisoning from ingesting bullet fragments, and collisions with cars and wind turbines all impact turkey vultures.
- Conservationists track communal roost locations to monitor populations. Vultures are also protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and other legislation in many countries.
- Public education aims to highlight the ecological role of vultures as nature’s cleanup crews. Their declining numbers can allow uneaten carcasses to spread disease.
Protecting communal roost sites and mitigating threats helps ensure turkey vultures remain a common sight soaring the skies in impressive flocks.
Conclusion
Turkey vultures are highly gregarious scavengers that form large, spectacular flocks called kettles, venues, and volts. Their social habits provide many benefits including better foraging, predator detection, thermoregulation, and social bonding. Vultures frequently gather by the hundreds or thousands at communal roosts and feeding sites, illustrating their strong flocking tendencies. Although still widespread, threats to turkey vulture populations mean conservation efforts aimed at protecting these fascinating birds are important.