Turkey vulture Cathartes aura Least concern
Where the turkey vulture lives – recorded in 31 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 17,469,421 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See birds of prey on the world map
| Scientific name | Cathartes aura |
|---|---|
| Group | Birds of prey |
| Status | Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 31 countries |
| Continents | North America, South America |
| Class | Bird |
| Order | Accipitriformes |
| Family | Cathartidae |
Where does the turkey vulture live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the turkey vulture in 31 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Belém, Brazil, South America.
- United States
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Panama
- Chile
- Brazil
- Belize
- Ecuador
- Peru
- Argentina
- Honduras
- Cuba
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
- Puerto Rico
- Nicaragua
- Jamaica
- Uruguay
- Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
- Bahamas
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Dominican Republic
- Falkland Islands
- Paraguay
- Guyana
- Suriname
- Haiti
- French Guiana
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the turkey vulture endangered?
The turkey vulture’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the turkey vulture?
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is a bird in the order Accipitriformes and the family Cathartidae, genus Cathartes. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the turkey vulture
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
Like all New World vultures, it is not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, the two groups strongly resemble each other due to convergent evolution.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Turkey vulture (revision 1380709489), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q245181 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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