Hello and welcome
back! Thank you for returning to
explore yet another animal from the World Bird Sanctuary.
What type of bird comes to
mind when you see or hear the combined words: scavenger, disgusting, and bald
head? If you are thinking of a
vulture or condor, then you’re right!
In this blog I'm going to share some fun and educational information
about a special vulture at the World Bird Sanctuary. You will discover his species’ natural history, personal
history, and a few very interesting facts, too!
The bird’s name is Kinsey
and he is a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). He was named
after John Kinsey, a beloved WBS volunteer who passed away suddenly in
2009.
Kinsey (photo: Lisbeth Hodges)
Kinsey is 5 years old this
year and came to us--literally! He
was rescued on our exhibit line after having been observed for three days
walking around and not flying. An
examination revealed that due to an old injury his right wing could not be
fully extended. As a result of
this injury, he could no longer fly.
Now, onto the educational
info! Turkey vultures are only
found in North and South America.
There are two groups of vultures--Old World and New World. There are 15 Old World vultures and 7 New World vultures, with 22 in total. Old World vultures are more closely
related to diurnal (day active) birds of prey like eagles, hawks and
falcons. New World vultures are
more closely related to storks and cranes. The New World refers to the
Americas. The Old World refers to
the rest of the continents. Other
New World vultures include Black, King, Lesser Yellow Headed, Greater Yellow
Headed, Andean Condor and California Condor.
Vultures scavenge for
their food, which means that they survive off of eating carrion (dead
animals). Kinsey is given rat,
rabbit, pigeons, venison, and fish.
His favorite seems to be pigeon. If you come to WBS between
8-9am, (when our birds on the exhibit line are usually fed) then your chances
of seeing neighboring wild vultures on the exhibit line will be very good! They
often gather there hoping to scavenge scraps from our birds’ meals. Since most of our enclosures have tops,
they are not successful—but, hey, a guy can hope, can’t he?
Kinsey, as well as many of
our other birds, loves to sun himself.
This basically means that he opens up his wings and directs the back of
his wings and body to the sun. Below you can see Kinsey
sunning in the morning light.
Kinsey sunning himself (photo: Lisbeth Hodges)
Turkey Vulture chicks look
exactly the same as Black Vulture chicks.
Surprisingly, they have white fluffy down feathers and a black face,
with a difference in beak shape.
Adult Turkey Vultures are all dark brown
except for their bright red face.
It takes around two years for them to mature into the red face, with
juveniles having a darker head. Turkey
Vultures are not sexually dimorphic, meaning the male and female look the
same. They also have the same
wingspan as small Bald Eagles, which is approximately six feet (67-70 inches). Their weight however is much
lighter--only 4.4lbs (2000g), whereas Bald Eagles range from 6-16lbs.
Mortimer, one of our other Turkey Vultures, still sporting his white down feathers and dark head (photo: Gay Schroer)
These vultures lay a
clutch (group of eggs or chicks) of 1-3 creamy white eggs with colored spots
ranging from purple to brown.
Their life span ranges from 20-25 years in the wild. In captivity they can live from 40-50
years!
Turkey Vultures are the
most common vulture in the United States and they are very easy to spot. When they soar in the sky, their wings
are in a slight dihedral (V-shape), and can soar for many hours without
flapping their wings.
These beautiful and bald
vultures have a great sense of smell. They can smell dead animals over 2
miles away! They have very large
nostrils, or nares that are within the cere (skin between beak and forehead). Below you can see a close up of his
cere.
Kinsey giving us a good look at his cere (photo: Lisbeth Hodges)
Kinsey is available for
adoption in our Adopt a Bird program.
To find out more information, call 636-861-3225. All adoption donations are tax
deductible.
Kinsey can be seen in the weathering area just behind the
Environmental Education Center (visitor’s center) at the World Bird Sanctuary,
which is open daily from 8am-5pm.
Kinsey is a very handsome
bird who demonstrates the phrase “bald is beautiful.” You should stop by and see him sometime.
Submitted by former World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist Lisbeth Hodges
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