Definition

Noun: A large, dark-colored bird of prey found in the Americas, known for its featherless red head and its reliance on carrion (dead animals) as its primary food source. It is a highly efficient scavenger.

Examples of Usage

• The turkey vulture circled high in the sky, searching the ground for food.
• We identified the bird as a turkey vulture by its distinctive V-shaped wing posture when soaring.
• A group of turkey vultures was gathered around the roadkill.

Advanced Usage

• "To circle like a turkey vulture": To wait or hover expectantly, often with a negative connotation of waiting for something bad to happen or for someone to fail.
  • The reporters circled like turkey vultures, waiting for the CEO to make a statement about the scandal.

Variants and Related Words

• Turkey buzzard: A common alternative name for the turkey vulture.
• Cathartes aura: The scientific (Latin) name for the species.
• New World vulture: The broader family of vultures to which the turkey vulture belongs, distinct from Old World vultures.

Synonyms

• Buzzard (common in North American informal usage, though "buzzard" technically refers to different birds of prey in other regions)
• Carrion bird
• Scavenger bird

Related Idioms

• A culture of turkey vultures: The specific collective noun for a group of these birds.
  • A culture of turkey vultures descended on the carcass.

Noun

1. a New World vulture that is common in South America and Central America and the southern United States