Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada (B) (P), Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica (B), Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay (B), USA (B), Venezuela.
Vagrant to Bermuda, Virgin Islands (U.S.).
Population
Estimated population is 5,000,000 (2010).
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) [XC748979]
by Richard E. Webster from Ubajay, Col\u00f3n Department, Entre Rios, Argentina (furnarius rufus, patagienas maculosa)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) [XC520288]
by id from Isla Chungungo, Chile (alarm call, call, hatchling or nestling)
Subspecies
Northern populations of nominate subspecies sometimes placed in separate subspecies, meridionalis. Those of Falkland Is and western South America sometimes separated off in subspecies falklandicus. However, some variation clinal, and in general subject still poorly known.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
aura (Linnaeus, 1758) - Western North America south to Costa Rica; Greater Antilles.
meridionalis Swann, 1921 - Western North America.
septentrionalis zu Wied-Neuwied, 1839 - Eastern North America.
ruficollis von Spix, 1824 - Southern Central America (from Costa Rica south) and lowland South America; Trinidad.
jota (Molina, 1782) - Pacific coast of South America (from Ecuador south), eastern Andes, Patagonia, Falkland Is.
falklandicus (Sharpe, 1873) - Pacific coast from Ecuador to southern Chile, Falkland Is.