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Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
43.1813, -124.182
Field Notes
Description:
A large new world raptor, the turkey vulture is being studied in N California and Oregon by Fish and Wildlife and the local Tribal councils of the Klamath and other tribes to determine if the California Condor can be released to the coast of N California/S Oregon.
Over the last several years, the turkey vulture has begun to overwinter in S Oregon and N California, due in part fo climate change
Habitat:
Along a highway, adjacent to a creek
Notes:
like all New World vultures, the turkey vulture is not related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia, (but is related to the California Condor). It looks similar to old world vultures because of convergent evolution, where natural selection similarly shapes unrelated animals adapting to the same conditions.
The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently.
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