Turkey vultures help to rid the landscape of road kill and other carcasses. This is even reflected in their scientific name, Cathartes aura. Cathartes from the Greek word, katharsis, meaning to purge or cleanse. Turkey vultures are common from southern Canada, throughout most of the United States and into South America. Northern birds are migratory, and leave colder areas in September and October for warmer climates.
Some turkey vultures migrate in flocks, while others join up en route south.
The turkey vulture is a brownish black bird with two-tone, black wings and a naked, red head. A large bird, the turkey vulture has a wingspan of nearly 6 feet. Once in the air, the turkey vulture is quite graceful, soaring for hours on updrafts and rising columns of warm air called thermals. In flight, a turkey vulture holds its wings extended into a V-shape, lightly rocking from side to side. Turkey vultures are able to stay within the thermals by flying in tight circles.