Handsome the Turkey Vulture

Handsome was found as a nestling and was illegally held by a member of the public before being turned over to the Ojai Raptor Center in 2005. By the time he arrived he was already malimprinted, or too habituated to humans to be released to the wild.

Turkey Vultures are social birds when feeding and roosting and are highly intelligent. They are commonly seen soaring the skies of the Ojai Valley with their large wingspans of up to 70 inches.

As scavengers, Turkey Vultures fill a critical ecological niche. They alert one another when carrion is detected below by circling overhead in large groups. Turkey Vultures do not have a syrinx, or voice box, and communicate by grunting, hissing and sometimes biting!

You can meet Handsome by booking one of our onsite private experiences.