The Santa Fe County

CERRILLOS HILLS HISTORIC PARK

American Vulture

Turkey Vulture - migratory; confirmed presence

Cathartes aura

Body size: 28" - Wingspread: 72" - American vulture Mostly black; brown-tinged above; head small, naked, red; bill yellow; soars with wings 25 degrees above horizontal, seldom flaps; tail long, rounded, pale silver flight feathers seen from below. Nightly communal roosts.

MR reports: Turkey Vulture roosts in the north end of the village at Cerrillos with as many as 20 birds during summer.

IN OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS

Sighted at the Leonora Curtin Natural History Area (a lush, well-watered preserve 3 miles north of Cerro Bonanza, near La Ciénega)

Turkey Vulture - SUMMER

Sighted at the Ortiz Mountains Educational Preserve (an isolated high mountain group -- 7,000 to 9,000 feet elevation -- eight miles south of Cerrillos.

Turkey Vulture - Apr '03, May '03

This website is maintained by the Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition
and is dedicated to the creation, enhancement and stewardship
of an historical, recreational, and cultural open space in the
Cerrillos Hills, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA

Return to the top of this page

Return to the Birds of the Park list

Return to the Flora and Fauna List Page

Return to: The Park's home page A Guide to the Park

Web Site Contact

This page last revised 21 November 2007