Kinsey

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. 

Our resident Turkey Vultures are often visited by their wild cousins (photo: Gay Schroer)

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! 

A wild Turkey Vulture in flight (photo: Gay Schroer)

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

Vultures Rock

In my lifetime I have been fortunate enough to have presented bird shows in many parts of the country, and to a large variety of audiences.

Presenting a program at an elementary school (photo: Chad Tussing)

I’ve talked to children and adults, and everything in between.  As you might imagine, I have fielded a lot of questions on tons of different topics.  My favorite question that I have only been asked a handful of times is, “If you could be a bird, what kind of bird would you be?”  One of my favorite things about that question is that I get to reply, “a Turkey Vulture,” without pausing.

People are usually shocked when I tell them I would want to be this bird (photo: Melissa Moore)

The response that I receive is usually surprise at least, and sometimes shock:  “Why on earth would you WANT to be a Vulture?”  My reply: “Have you seen the way they fly?”

Have you seen the way they fly?  (photo: Gay Schroer)

Vultures are masters of the air. Turkey Vultures can soar for hours without ever having to flap their wings. They use their large wing area to catch the warm air rising from the ground, called thermals, and ride it in a circular pattern higher and higher. When they gain enough height, they can simply soar out of the thermal and glide along, gradually losing altitude until they find another thermal. In this manner Turkey Vultures can cover hundreds of miles using very little energy. They hold their wings in a “dihedral,” with wing tips being higher than the vulture’s back, so the wings form a V-shape, to take greatest advantage of the lift.

They hold their wings in a dihedral (v-shape) (photo: Gay Schroer)

The best places to find these warm uplifts of air known as thermals are over fields. As the sun heats the ground, the lowest air begins to heat up and then rises in columns. Humans in gliders can take advantage of these uplifts in the same way that Vultures do.

The primary feathers fan out, almost like fingers (photo: Gay Schroer)

When you watch Turkey Vultures in flight, you can see the rather precarious agreement they have with the laws of physics. Their bodies tip slightly from side to side as they adjust to moving air currents and soar, sometimes just above the speed of stalling. The primary feathers at the tips of a Turkey Vulture’s wings fan out almost like fingers, and, if you watch closely, you can see the tiny adjustments they make with these and their tail feathers as they fly.

Who wouldn’t want to fly like that?

As you walk our path you may see wild Turkey Vultures visiting their resident cousins (photo: Gay Schroer)

To get a really good look at these “Masters of the Sky” come out and visit the World Bird Sanctuary on any day except Thanksgiving and Christmas.  As you walk down the trail past the Wildlife Hospital you will see the exhibit that houses our resident Turkey Vultures.  They will sometimes keep pace with visitors, accompanying them along the fence line inside their enclosure as the visitors walk down the trail.  You may even be lucky enough to see the many wild Turkey Vultures that sometimes visit their resident cousins in hopes of getting a free meal.

Submitted by Melissa H. Moore, World Bird Sanctuary Special Event & Volunteer Coordinator