Vocabulary:
Urohydrosis: A habit of some birds to defecate on their legs as a mean of cooling themselves through evaporation of feces.

Trophic Level: A step in the food chain of an ecosystem. Whether an animal is a producer or consumer, and if they are carnivores, herbivores, or decomposers. Trophic levels can be represented by numbers, starting at level 1 with plants.
Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called producers.
Level 2: Herbivores eat plants and are called primary consumers.
Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.
Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.
Apex predators by definition have no predators and are at the top of their food chains.

Monogamous: Having only one mate at a time.

Key For IUCN Distribution Map


Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chardata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order:
Family Group:
Family Name:
Common Name:
Scientific Name:





Habitat:
Diet:
Behavior:
Reproduction and Young:
Conservation:
Distribution:
Ecology:
Miscellaneous:
Appearance:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chardata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Cathartiformes
Family Group: New World Vultures
Family Name: Cathartidae
Common Name: Turkey Vulture
Scientific Name: Cathartes Aura





Habitat: Open Woodlands. Look for Turkey Vultures as they cruise open areas including mixed farmland, forest, and rangeland. They are particularly noticeable along roadsides and at landfills. At night, they roost in trees, on rocks, and other high secluded spots.
Diet: Carrion. Turkey Vultures eat carrion, which they find largely by their excellent sense of smell. Mostly they eat mammals but are not above snacking on reptiles, other birds, amphibians, fish, and even invertebrates. They prefer freshly dead animals, but often have to wait for their meal to soften in order to pierce the skin. They are deft foragers, targeting the softest bits first and are even known to leave aside the scent glands of dead skunks. Thankfully for them, vultures appear to have excellent immune systems, happily feasting on carcasses without contracting botulism, anthrax, cholera, or salmonella. Unlike their Black Vulture relatives, Turkey Vultures almost never attack living prey.
Behavior: Soaring. The Turkey Vulture's distinctive slow, teetering flight style probably helps the bird soar at low altitudes, where it is best able to use its nose to find carrion. At other times they may soar high on thermals and form mixed flocks or kettles. On the ground they move with ungainly hops and are less agile than Black Vultures. Often, especially in the morning, they can be seen standing erect, wings spread in the sun, presumably to warm up, cool off, or dry off. Outside of the breeding season, Turkey Vultures form roosts of dozens to a hundred individuals. Migrating flocks can number in the thousands. At carcasses, several Turkey Vultures may gather but typically only one feeds at a time, chasing the others off and making them wait their turn. Despite their size, Turkey Vultures are often driven off by smaller Black Vultures, Crested Caracaras, Zone-tailed Hawks, and other species.
Reproduction and Young: When Turkey Vultures court, pairs perform a "follow flight" display where one bird leads the other through twisting, turning, and flapping flights for a minute or so, repeated over periods as long as 3 hours. Turkey Vultures nest in rock crevices, caves, ledges, thickets, mammal burrows and hollow logs, fallen trees, abandoned hawk or heron nests, and abandoned buildings. These nest sites are typically much cooler (by 13°F or more) than surroundings, and isolated from human traffic or disturbance. While they often feed near humans, Turkey Vultures prefer to nest far away from civilization. Turkey Vultures don’t build full nests. They may scrape out a spot in the soil or leaf litter, pull aside obstacles, or arrange scraps of vegetation or rotting wood. Once found, many of these nest sites may be used repeatedly for a decade or more.
Clutch Size:		1-3 eggs				Number of Broods:		1 brood
Egg Length:		2.6-3.0 in (6.5-7.5 cm)		Egg Width:		1.7-2.1 in (4.4-5.3 cm)
Incubation Period:		28-40 days			Nestling Period:		60-84 days
Egg Description:		Creamy white tinged with gray, blue, or green, and spotted with purple to brown.
Condition at Hatching:	Downy, often blind, and defenseless beyond a quiet hiss.
Conservation: Increasing. Least Concern. Turkey Vultures increased in number across North America from 1966 to 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 18 million with 28% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 9% in Mexico, and 1% breeding in Canada. The species rates a 5 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score. Turkey Vulture is not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. These birds were threatened by side-effects of the pesticide DDT, but today they are among the most common large carnivorous birds in North America. However, because they live on rotting meat, like California Condors, they can fall victim to poisons or lead in dead animals. The main concern is lead shot that ends up in carcasses or gut piles left by hunters. The animals eat the shot and eventually suffer lead poisoning. Other threats include trapping and killing due to erroneous fears that they spread disease. Far from it, vultures actually reduce the spread of disease. Lives for around 16 years and up to 30 in captivity.
Distribution and Migration: Resident to long-distance migrant. Some Turkey Vultures in the southern United States are year-round residents. Birds in the northeast migrate short distances southward, to North Carolina through Louisiana. Western birds migrate much farther, with large numbers (more than a million) moving through Central America and in some cases as far as Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Ecology: Gregarious bird that roosts in large groups. Adult, immature and fledging vultures may fall prey to great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and bald eagles, while eggs and nestlings may be preyed on by mammals such as raccoons and opossums. Because of Turkey Vulture’s consummation of carrion, they play a part in biodegradation. Vulture is a carnivore and scavenger. Microbes in Turkey Vulture aid digestion. A symbiotic relationship between Coyotes and Turkey Vultures exist. Turkey vultures fly many miles and find animal carcasses with their excellent eyes and sense of smell but are not able to tear open the tough skin. Coyotes see the turkey vultures circling their find and tear open up the carcass as they feed on it. After the coyotes are full the turkey vultures are able to feed. Its sense of smell is a unique adaptation for a bird. Their naked heads remain cleaner when feeding inside large carcasses.
Miscellaneous: The oldest recorded Turkey Vulture was at least 16 years, 10 months old when it was found in Ohio, the same state where it had been banded. Turkey Vultures have a keen sense of smell. he turkey vulture lowers its night-time body temperature by about 6 degrees Celsius to 34 °C (93 °F). Exhibits urohydrosis. Regurgitates semi-digested meat as a form of defense.
Appearance: Turkey Vultures are large dark birds with long, broad wings. Bigger than other raptors except eagles and condors, they have long "fingers" at their wingtips and long tails that extend past their toe tips in flight. When soaring, Turkey Vultures hold their wings slightly raised, making a ‘V’ when seen head-on. Turkey Vultures appear black from a distance but up close are dark brown with a featherless red head and pale bill. While most of their body and forewing are dark, the undersides of the flight feathers (along the trailing edge and wingtips) are paler, giving a two-toned appearance.
Both Sexes:
Length: 		25.2-31.9 in (64-81 cm)
Weight: 		70.5 oz (2000 g)
Wingspan: 	66.9-70.1 in (170-178 cm)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chardata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family Group: Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
Family Name: Rallidae
Common Name: Sora
Scientific Name: Porzana Carolina





Habitat: Marshes. Soras spend most of the year in freshwater and brackish wetlands with cattail, sedges, and rushes. During migration and winter, they also use wet pastures, ditches, impoundments, and flooded fields.
Diet: Seeds. Soras primarily eat seeds from wetland plants, but also eat aquatic invertebrates. They rake floating vegetation with their long toes in search of sedge, bulrush, grass, rice, and smartweed seeds. They also peck at the water's surface for seeds and aquatic insects such as snails, dragonflies, flies, and beetles.
Behavior: Ground Forager. Soras flick their tail as they walk slowly along the muddy edges of wetlands pecking at the surface for seeds, but they can also run with lightning speed and disappear from view in a flash. They often stay hidden in dense vegetation, but forage in the open and swim across open water on occasion. Soras tend toward secrecy, but they aggressively defend their territories from other Soras. Their threat display includes neck stretching, bowing, and tail and wing spreading. If displaying fails to warn off an intruder, the territory owner gives chase.
Reproduction and Young: Males and females form monogamous bonds during the breeding season. Pairs court each other with a 15–30-minute stare-down followed by preening. Soras nest at the edges of shallow wetlands (less than about 8 inches deep) in dense patches of cattails and sedges. They build a nest either on top of mounds of vegetation or attached to plant stems above the surface of the water. Females loosely weave together a shallow basket with cattails and sedges that is approximately 6 inches wide. Females build the nest, but males often bring them vegetation for the nest. The female starts laying eggs as soon as she completes the foundation and continues to add material to the nest while laying. Females also bend down the vegetation above the nest, tucking the ends into the rim to provide additional cover.
Egg Description:		Cream to cinnamon-colored with irregular brown spots.
Condition at Hatching:	Covered in black down with orange tufts at the base of the lower bill. Precocial.
Conservation: Increasing. Least Concern. Soras are common and the most abundant rail species in North America. Their population was stable between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight rates Sora a 9 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, which means it is not on the Partners in Flight Watch List. Although Sora populations are stable, they rely on wetland habitat that is dwindling due to urban and agricultural development. Soras migrate at night and frequently collide with lighted towers during migration, which could potentially affect the population. Sora hunting is legal in 31 states and in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, but the popularity of hunting Sora has declined in recent years and it is unclear if hunting has any significant impacts.
Distribution and Migration: Long-distance migrant. Migrates at night to wintering grounds in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.
Ecology: Sora eggs are eaten by several species including American minks (Mustela vison), skunks (Mephitidae), coyotes (Canis latrans), grackles (Quiscalus spp.), crows (Corvus spp.), and herons (Ardeidae). Predation of adult soras by American minks, coyotes and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) has been reported. Soras are omnivores.
Call: The most commonly heard call is a descending whinny that lasts 2–3 seconds. The loud and boisterous whinny echoes across wetlands from spring through summer. Males and females whinny to defend their territory and to keep in touch with each other. They also give a 2-noted ker-wee or sor-ah where the second note rises in pitch, either singly or before giving a descending whinny.
Miscellaneous: The Sora is the most abundant and widespread rail in North America. Soras have earned several nicknames including Carolina rail, soree, meadow chicken, and ortolan. Loud noises sometimes give Soras a start, but instead of jumping like we might do they give a whinny call.
Appearance: Soras are small, chubby, chicken-like birds with long toes. They have a stubby bill unlike other rails in the United States and Canada, which have longer bills. They frequently hold their short tail cocked up. Soras are mottled gray and brown with white-edged feathers, but the feature that stands out the most is their yellow candy-corn bill. Other notable features include a black mask and throat patch, vertical white lines on the sides, and a white patch under the tail. Females tend to be less brightly colored than males and have less black on the face and throat. Juveniles also lack the black mask.