The 2 Types of Vultures You’ll Spot Soaring Over Delaware’s Skies

Only two types of vultures in Delaware share the same airspace, yet they behave so differently that longtime birdwatchers still mix them up at a glance. Delaware’s Division of Fish and Wildlife confirms that two different vultures, the Black and the Turkey vulture, call Delaware home. Neither species builds an elaborate nest, sings a pretty song, or wins many popularity contests, but both do a job few other animals can handle.

Vultures clean up the carcasses that would otherwise rot along Delaware’s roadsides, fields, and marshes. Bird Watching HQ notes that vultures are incredibly important to the environment because they eat dead animals that most other predators can’t stomach, and that eliminating the rotting meat helps stop the spread of tuberculosis, rabies, and more.

This guide breaks down exactly how to tell Delaware’s turkey vultures and black vultures apart, plus what each one is doing when you spot it circling overhead.

1. Turkey Vulture

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The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is the vulture most people picture when they think of a bird circling lazily over a country road. According to the Hummingbirds Plus field guide, the turkey vulture is one of the most common vulture species found in Delaware, and its name comes from a detail that’s hard to miss up close: the bird’s bald, red head resembles that of a male wild turkey.

Delaware’s state wildlife agency describes the turkey vulture as the larger of the state’s two species, with a wingspan up to 5.5 feet. The agency notes birders can identify one most easily by its featherless head covered in red skin and bright ivory beak, and that when seen soaring, the silvery gray edge of their wings runs the full length of the trailing edge, not just the tips.

Flight style gives this bird away even from a distance. NHPBS NatureWorks explains that a turkey vulture flies at low altitudes with its wings at a V-shaped angle called a dihedral, and that as it flies, it rocks from side to side instead of flapping its wings. That wobble, paired with the raised-wing V, is one of the fastest ways to identify a turkey vulture before it’s even close enough to see the red head.

Pro Tip: If the soaring bird overhead is teetering side to side with its wings raised in a shallow V, it’s almost certainly a turkey vulture. A flatter, steadier glide points to the other Delaware species instead.

Turkey vultures find their meals differently than most birds of prey. NHPBS notes the species has excellent eyesight and a keen sense of smell that helps it locate rotting meat, calling that sense of smell a unique adaptation for a bird. That nose for carrion makes the species a genuine public health asset. Hummingbirds Plus points out that turkey vultures help limit the spread of diseases by quickly disposing of animal carcasses, and that their stomach acid kills many pathogens that could otherwise contaminate water sources.

Delaware hosts turkey vultures throughout the year, though the population swells with the seasons. Badgerland Birding reports that the Turkey Vulture can normally be seen in Delaware during the spring, summer, and fall, as northern breeders move in once the weather warms. Checklist data compiled by Bird Advisors backs up how common the species is statewide, with turkey vultures recorded in 39% of summer checklists and 33% of winter checklists submitted by bird watchers for the state.

Roosting and nesting habits round out the picture. Hummingbirds Plus describes how the birds roost communally, often congregating in the same dead trees in large numbers before dispersing at dawn to hunt. Come breeding season, which runs from March to June in Delaware, pairs skip elaborate nest-building entirely. The source notes these birds nest on cliffs, in caves, hollow trees, and even abandoned buildings, laying eggs on little more than a bare scrape lined with debris.

Turkey vultures aren’t unique to Delaware, of course. The same wide-winged silhouette shows up across the continent, and readers curious how the species behaves elsewhere can compare notes with related guides covering vultures in Texas, vultures in Georgia, and vultures in Tennessee. For a broader sense of how many vulture species exist worldwide and how New World species differ from their Old World relatives, the breakdown on how many types of vultures there are is a useful starting point.

Roadside carrion is a common draw for turkey vultures, and in Delaware that often means snakes killed crossing rural highways. Anyone who wants a closer look at what ends up on the menu can check the guide to snakes found in Delaware for context on which species turn up most often.

2. Black Vulture

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The black vulture (Coragyps atratus) is the smaller, scrappier of Delaware’s two vulture species, and it makes up for its size with attitude. Delaware’s state wildlife agency notes the black vulture has a 4.5-5ft wingspan, compared to the turkey vulture’s larger frame, and that the skin on their head is black, as is their beak.

In flight, the agency points out that black vultures are much more compact, and they only have silvery gray feathers on the tips of their wings, instead of the whole back edge.

Feature	Turkey Vulture	Black Vulture
Wingspan	Up to 5.5 feet	4.5 to 5 feet
Head Color	Red, bald	Black, bald
Wing Pattern (Underside)	Silvery gray along entire trailing edge	Silvery gray patch at wingtips only
Flight Style	Wobbling glide, wings raised in a V	Steady flapping bursts, flat glide
Sense of Smell	Strong; locates carrion by scent	Weak; relies on sight and Turkey Vultures
Diet	Carrion only	Mostly carrion; occasionally kills weak or newborn animals

That weaker sense of smell shapes almost everything about how black vultures find food. Bird Watching HQ explains that between the two species, Turkey Vultures have a MUCH better sense of smell, and that Black Vultures use this fact to their advantage and follow Turkey Vultures to a carcass. It’s not a friendly partnership, either. The same source notes that the more aggressive Black Vultures will chase away their vulture cousins to have the food all to themselves once a meal is located.

Key Insight: Black vultures essentially freeload off turkey vultures’ superior noses, then use numbers and aggression to muscle in and take over the carcass first.

Unlike most vultures, black vultures don’t always wait for something to die. Bird Watching HQ reports that Black Vultures primarily eat carrion, but unlike most other vultures, they are known to kill animals to feed on fresh meat. The source adds it’s not uncommon for them to prey on living skunks, opossums, and livestock, such as baby pigs, calves, and lambs, a habit that occasionally puts them at odds with Delaware’s farmers.

Flight behavior offers another clue when telling the two species apart at a distance. The Audubon Field Guide describes black vultures in low flight as proceeding with several quick flaps followed by a flat-winged glide, a choppier pattern than the turkey vulture’s steady wobble. Audubon also notes the species is usually seen in flocks, reflecting just how social these birds are compared to their more solitary-looking cousins.

That social streak extends well beyond feeding groups. Research summarized by Birds of the World found that black vulture families associate closely year-round and may feed their young for as many as eight months after fledging. Chicks get plenty of attention early on, too; Animalia.bio notes that black vulture chicks are fed by their parents up to 20 times a day. Wild individuals typically live around a decade, though Animalia.bio records that the longest-banded individual has lived up to 25.6 years.

Habitat preferences in Delaware split the difference between forest and field. Bird Watching HQ advises looking for the species in both forested and open areas, noting that black vultures prefer to roost and nest in dense forests but forage for food along roads, fields, and other open spaces. That combination makes them just as likely to turn up near suburban Delaware neighborhoods as in the state’s remaining woodlots.

Silence is another shared trait, though for a physical reason rather than a behavioral one. Animalia.bio explains that black vultures lack a syrinx, which is a bird’s vocal organ, so can only make grunts and low hisses. Neither Delaware vulture will ever be mistaken for a songbird, but that trade-off comes with the efficient, low-maintenance biology that makes vultures such effective scavengers in the first place.

• Black vultures are smaller and blockier than turkey vultures, with shorter tails and wings.
• They rely on sight and social cues far more than smell to locate food.
• Family groups stick together for months, sharing food with relatives.
• They are more willing than turkey vultures to attack weak or newborn animals.

Delaware’s two vultures aren’t the only species wearing that name worldwide. Africa’s vultures, including the ones covered in the guide to vultures in Kenya, belong to an entirely different bird family and evolved their scavenging habits independently of the New World species found in Delaware, Texas, and California.

Vultures are far from the only scavengers doing cleanup work in Delaware’s fields and forests. Carrion beetles and flies often reach a carcass before either vulture species notices it, and readers interested in that overlap can browse the guides to beetles in Delaware and flies in Delaware for a look at the insects filling a similar ecological niche on a much smaller scale.

Vultures may not win any beauty contests, but Delaware’s birdwatching scene has plenty of showier species to balance things out. Anyone drawn to color after a day spent picking out drab, dark scavengers might enjoy the guides to orange birds in Delaware, blue birds, and purple birds, or the roundup of hummingbird species found across North America. Delaware’s marshes and shoreline add even more variety, and the overview of water bird species is a good next stop for anyone building out a full list of the state’s avian residents.

Whether it’s the wobbling glide of a turkey vulture or the flat, flapping flight of a black vulture overhead, both birds are doing Delaware a favor every time they find a carcass first. Learning to tell them apart takes only a few field trips, and once the difference clicks, spotting either species becomes one of the easier identification calls in the state.