Turkey vultures in California: Identification, migration, diet and the difference from the condor

Turkey vultures are common in California, and most people have seen one circling over a highway or hillside. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's habitat account describes the turkey vulture as common throughout most of California in the breeding season, absent from only the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada. In winter it becomes absent to uncommon across most of California. Most of the population migrates south, mostly to Central America, while some birds stay the winter in coastal regions, where the largest winter concentrations occur.

The bird is listed on the official California checklist as Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, one of California's three New World vultures along with the California condor and the rare black vulture. It is not threatened or endangered. It is protected under state law, and CDFW counts it among California's raptors. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act also covers it.

This guide covers how to identify a turkey vulture, where and when it occurs in California, how it finds food and nests, the few sounds it makes, its legal status and how to tell it from the California condor. It is part of our guide to the birds of California and our guide to birds of prey in California.

Turkey vulture at a glance

Sources: CBRC checklist (September 8, 2026); All About Birds (size); CDFW California Wildlife Habitat Relationships account B108; CDFW listed-animals list (July 2026); 50 CFR 10.13.

Turkey vulture identification: A dark, long-winged soarer with a bare red head:

The turkey vulture is a large, dark bird with long, broad wings, smaller than an eagle and larger than a red-tailed hawk. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds gives a length of 25.2 to 31.9 inches and a wingspan of 66.9 to 70.1 inches, or roughly 5.6 to 5.8 feet. It weighs about 4.4 pounds.

From a distance an adult looks black. Up close it is dark brown with a bare red head and a pale bill. Seen from below, the wings are two-toned. The National Park Service's Presidio of San Francisco species page describes silver-gray flight feathers behind black leading edges. Juveniles have a dark bare head without the adult's red, though their underwing pattern matches.

The flight is the giveaway. A turkey vulture holds its wings in a shallow V and seldom flaps, and it rocks or teeters from side to side as it soars. It may soar in small groups and rises on warm air currents to gain height. The wingtips end in long, spread "fingers," and the tail reaches past the feet in flight.

Turkey vultures in California: Common statewide in summer and along the coast in winter:

Turkey vultures are found in Northern and Southern California and nearly everywhere between. CDFW's account says the species is common in the breeding season throughout most of California and is missing only from the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada. It uses the open stages of most habitats, provided there are cliffs or large trees for nesting, roosting and resting.

Winter is different. The account describes the turkey vulture as absent to uncommon across most of California in winter, with the greatest concentrations in coastal regions. The NPS describes it as moderately common throughout the year in the Presidio of San Francisco, though it is not known to breed there.

Migration is a visible event. CDFW says turkey vultures migrate south or downslope for the winter. Some birds in coastal regions stay in California, and the rest of the population migrates, mostly to Central America. In autumn, large flocks concentrate along well-defined, traditional migration routes. The account also records as many as 500 juveniles using communal roosts in California from August through October.

Turkey vulture habitat, diet and nesting in California: Carrion, cliffs and hollow trees:

The turkey vulture eats mainly carrion. CDFW's account says it rarely takes rotting fruit, live birds, eggs or live mammals. It is a specialist at soaring without flapping and searches roads, fields, open forests and almost every open habitat from the air and from perches. Smell plays a large part. All About Birds says the turkey vulture can detect odors at just a few parts per trillion, which lets it find a carcass hidden below a forest canopy. Birds regularly forage 15 to 20 miles from their roost or nest, according to CDFW.

At a carcass the turkey vulture often feeds alongside ravens and condors but appears to rank below both, and golden eagles and coyotes may keep it away. All About Birds notes another defense: a turkey vulture may vomit on an animal or person that gets too close.

The species does not build much of a nest. CDFW lists cliffs, rock outcrops with rims, ledges and cavities in trees, snags and logs as nest sites. A pair lays one clutch a year, usually two eggs and rarely one or three. Incubation takes 38 to 41 days. The young hatch with their eyes open and are cared for by both parents for 80 days or more. Large trees, rock outcrops and streamside thickets serve as places to roost, perch and sun.

The oldest turkey vulture on record, according to All About Birds, was at least 23 years and 4 months old when it was seen in California in 2019. It had been banded in California in 1997.

Turkey vulture calls and sounds: Hisses and a low whine instead of song:

Turkey vultures make few sounds. All About Birds' sound page explains that they lack the vocal organs needed for proper songs. Most of their sounds are a low, guttural hiss, given when a bird is irritated or competing for a place at a carcass. In flight a turkey vulture may also give a low, nasal whine. The page has recordings of adult and juvenile hisses.

Turkey vulture legal status in California: A protected bird under state and federal law:

The turkey vulture is not on CDFW's July 2026 list of endangered and threatened animals and is not fully protected. It is still illegal to kill one without authorization. Fish and Game Code section 3513 makes it unlawful to take or possess any bird covered by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act except as federal rules allow, and the turkey vulture is on the federal list in 50 CFR 10.13. Section 3503 protects the nests and eggs of all birds.

CDFW's raptor page defines raptors as hawks, falcons, kites, eagles, vultures and owls, lists the turkey vulture among California's raptors and says all raptors are protected under Fish and Game Code sections 3503, 3503.5, 3505 and 3513 and related state regulations.

Similar species to the turkey vulture in California: The California condor and the rare black vulture:

The California condor is the other large vulture in California's skies, and the two can be mistaken for each other from a distance, the National Park Service says. Size is the first difference. CDFW says the condor's wings spread more than nine feet and that a condor may weigh more than 20 pounds. A turkey vulture's wingspan is less than six feet, by All About Birds' measurements. Underwing pattern is the second. An adult condor shows white triangular patches along the front edge of each wing, while a turkey vulture's paler silver-gray feathers run along the trailing edge and wingtips. Head color is the third. An adult condor's bare head is yellowish orange, and a young condor has a dark head and mottled gray underwing patches instead of clean white ones. Wild condors in California are reintroduced birds, and our condor guide covers where they fly.

The black vulture is a rarity in California. It is a review species on California's official checklist, which the California Bird Records Committee assigns to birds averaging four or fewer occurrences a year. All About Birds says the turkey vulture's brown plumage and red head separate it from a black vulture in good light.

Eagles and some hawks can also look similar overhead. All About Birds lists the bald eagle, golden eagle and red-tailed hawk as lookalikes and says a large bird soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles is likely a turkey vulture.

Turkey vultures in California: A common scavenger protected as a raptor:

Turkey vultures in California are common in the breeding season across almost the whole state, and in winter some remain near the coast while most of the population flies south. They find carrion by sight and smell, nest on cliffs and in cavities in trees, snags and logs, and make little sound beyond a hiss. The species is not listed, but state law and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protect it, and CDFW counts it among California's raptors.