Turkey Vultures are large, dark birds with naked heads and long, broad wings.Turkey Vultures range in length from 26 to 32 inches and have a wingspan of 68 to 72 inches which makes them bigger than other raptors except eagles and condors.

Turkey Vultures appear black from a distance but are actuallly dark brown with golden-brown edges on wing coverts.

When soaring overhead, the wings have a two-toned gray and black appearance. Turkey vultures often hold their wings slightly raised in a shallow "V" and rock from side to side gracefully when soaring. Their primary wing-tip feathers are long and look like "fingers" at tip of the wing. Their tails are also long and extend past their toe tips in flight.

The unfeathered head is very distinctive and usually appears small in relation to the body. The red color of the head in adults is often hard to see on flying birds. Young birds have blackish-gray heads. They have a light colored, hooked bill.