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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

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