The
turkey vulture (
Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the
New World vultures, with a range extending from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It feeds primarily on a wide variety of
carrion, from small mammals to large herbivores, preferring those recently dead to putrefying carcasses; it rarely kills prey itself. Populations appear to be stable, and it is listed as a
least-concern species by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature. This photograph shows a turkey vulture in flight in Cuba. It employs static soaring flight, in which it flaps its wings infrequently, and takes advantage of rising
thermals to stay aloft.
Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp