Adult turkey vultures have a six-foot wingspan! These huge wings let turkey vultures glide in the air for hours without ever beating their wings. This allows turkey vultures to get a full and spectacular view of all the dead things they can scoop up.
Turkey vultures have a great sense of smell, which is rare for a bird. They can get a whiff of rotting roadkill while soaring overhead and zero in on it with pinpoint precision.
Turkey vultures rarely kill, and they have an unusual way of fighting, too. They vomit as their defense, and what they throw up stinks.
These huge birds aren’t built for fighting. They have weak feet and can’t hold on too much with their talons. That’s why dead meat is a turkey vulture’s preferred meal.
Dead animals can make birds, cats, dogs, and wild animals sick and spread disease. However, a turkey vulture’s digestive system kills off any viruses or bacteria it eats. Turkey vultures don’t get sick when they eat decaying flesh! Their droppings are also clean and free of disease. Turkey vultures are nature’s cleanup crew!
Activities:
1. Why are the turkey vultures called the nature’s cleanup crews? What make them the nature’s cleanup crews? Discuss with your learning partners.
2. Make a turkey vulture shape by tangram pieces. Count how many triangles your turkey vulture shape has.
3. Draw a turkey vulture that is cleaning a roadkill. Then watch the video to learn more about vultures.
