Turkey Vulture Turkey Vulture Also known as Buzzard, carrion crow, John Crow, red-necked buzzard, turkey buzzard. Aura is a Latinized South American name for the turkey vulture. There are six subspecies of turkey vultures in the world, including three in North America. C. a. septentrionalis is found in the eastern United States and west into Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. C. a. meridionalis breeds mostly west of the above subspecies and down into Baja California, excluding the lower Colorado River valley.
Turkey vultures have a dark brown body with a red head and white-tipped bill.
The head is small in comparison to the rest of the body. Males and females are similar in size and weight. Little data are available. Although they eat decaying flesh, they seem to prefer fresh meat. They have also been known to eat live animals.