WildView™

July 4, 2025

A Preen Queen

- as seen by -

Julie Larsen

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I have a thing for vultures.  

Maybe it is from the many years of working with bird staff at the Wildlife Conservation Society, who feel the same and have shared their appreciation of these broad-winged birds with me. Maybe it is the way these scavengers clear out carrion, their favorite food, that would otherwise be left to spread disease. And maybe they are just cool.

Essential to the health of our ecosystem, turkey vultures are easy to spot as they fly low, commonly near highways, to sniff out rotting roadkill. Their bright red bald-looking heads are recognizable as they ride the thermals in search of their next meal.

I recently met Violet, a 10-year-old turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) that lives at the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine. She was busy using her short, hooked beak to smooth her iridescent feathers. Called “preening”, Violet spends several hours a day on her plumage to keep it in top condition, free of parasites and other debris, which is essential for vulture flight, warmth, and good health.

Unfortunately, Violet was struck by a car and can no longer fly, but she still maintains her beauty routine by carefully arranging her feathers. She is an ambassador at the Center, where she is actively involved in education and is said to be an excellent surrogate mom to other vultures.

Help to protect turkey vultures by keeping food and trash off the roads that can attract rodents and other mammals that vultures like to hunt.

Nikon D5

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