While eating supper, I am still seeing the turkey vultures as they circle overhead before landing in their roost. Their numbers have been dwindling over the past few weeks, an indication that their journey south has begun.

The turkey vultures usually return to Troy during the middle of March. During the fall, the migrant birds move through our area, with stragglers still moving through in early November. We have had turkey vultures roosting in the Troy area for decades.

The turkey vulture’s scientific name is Catharies aura. The catharies comes from the Greek word katjartes, meaning cleanser; hence, scavenger. The species name is a Latinized name from a South American name, which comes from the Latin word aurum, meaning gold. Of course, the common name of turkey comes from the red skin on the head and the dark body feathers, which resemble a turkey.

Most people can identify the vulture. When watching vultures in flight, one must be impressed with the gracefulness and the majestic image they project. On the ground, the turkey vultures appear clumsy, and, with a closer look, one might say they are downright ugly.

Vultures are meat eaters, but they lack the strong curved talons of the hawks and owls. Their feet are weak and not made for pouncing and killing of prey, therefore they feed on dead carrion. Although on rare occasions, vultures have been known to kill both injured or young helpless birds and animals. They are also known as nature’s garbage collectors.

With a diet such as this, one might not expect vultures to have long lives, however the average lifespan of a vulture is 20 years.

A great deal of the vultures’ time is spent soaring. They have a wingspan of almost six feet and eyesight that enables them to spot carrion from as high as 5,000 feet and a keen sense of smell that is an aid in finding food. Vultures feed on both freshly killed and stinky, putrid animals that have been dead for some time. One bird will descend to feed, with others joining the feast.

The vultures are built for feeding on dead animals. The head is wrinkled and completely un-feathered, and the beak, which is long and hooked, is made for pulling and tearing flesh. A turkey vulture’s head is red, with blue markings, resembling that of a turkey. This bare head enables the bird to stick its head inside the chest cavity of a dead animal without getting its feathers messy. The bird is also known to urinate on its feet to wash them off.

Although vultures do not have voice boxes they can hiss and grunt. The black vulture is more vocal than the turkey vulture.

A vulture has no nest at all. The female will lay two white eggs, marked with chocolate brown, in a hollow stump or on a rock ledge. The eggs will hatch in 30 to 40 days. These nest sites are usually very inaccessible. Vultures will mate for life, and both the male and female will incubate the eggs.

After hatching, it will be another eight to ten weeks before the young are able to fly. The young are fed by the parents by regurgitation.

The turkey vulture is a year-round resident of Pennsylvania, however, here in the northern part of the state, they disappear during the winter months.

Early man watched and studied the birds, such as hawks and vultures, and dreamed of finding some way to fly. Migrating birds of prey, which are famous for conserving energy by utilizing thermal and deflective air currents, have been carrying on this ritual for 80 million years.

On the long journey south, the migrating birds are capable of sustained flight on their own, however they try to conserve energy by utilizing the rising air currents and wind directions.

American vultures are among the most accomplished of soarers and probably the most perfect example of soaring flight. I have often seen a turkey vulture sitting on a tree branch or fence post, with wings spread to dry its wings so it can take to the air. Sometimes these birds are hit by freezing rain, while on the roost at night, and their wings become so encased with ice they cannot fly.

Some condors, which belong to the vulture family, have a wingspan of ten to 11 feet. The only bird with a larger wingspread is the wandering albatross.

There have been Native American tribes that have had folklore about the legendary thunderbird. This bird was so large that on take-off and landing, a sound much like thunder was made.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.