A Different Kind of Turkey - Nature Center Notes for kids and parents to read together

As we enter the holiday season, many of you may have turkey on the brain! Here at the Nature Center, we’re thinking about a different type of turkey: the turkey vulture.

If you’ve visited us before, you may have had the opportunity to glimpse Buzz, our resident turkey vulture. Buzz has been at the Nature Center since 1990, after a wing injury made it impossible for him to survive on his own in the wild. He is well-known for his bright red head, which is how turkey vultures get their name, as well as his propensity for spreading his wings in the sun. Turkey vultures do this to warm up and dry their feathers.

Instead of relying on acorns, berries, and insects like wild turkeys, turkey vultures are scavengers. This means that they feed on carrion, which is another word for dead animals. You’ve probably seen vultures hanging out on the sides of the road, waiting for their next meal. Even though this may not sound appetizing to us, scavengers are an essential part of our ecosystem. You can think of them as nature's cleanup crew, taking care of the waste that other animals aren’t interested in eating. This service also helps to prevent the spread of bacteria and disease. If we didn’t have scavengers like vultures, the world would be a much messier and smellier place.

Because of their diets, turkey vultures are one of the few birds with a strong sense of smell. Most raptors, like owls and hawks, rely on their sight and hearing to find their food. Vultures just take a big whiff of whatever’s around them!

The Nature Center is also home to Suli, a black vulture who came from the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores earlier this year. She eats the same diet as Buzz, but they’re easy to tell apart – Suli’s head is black instead of red. The next time you visit the Nature Center, be sure to swing by and say hi to both of these special birds.

Learn more at wildwnc.org.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: A Different Kind of Turkey - Nature Center Notes for kids and parents to read together