The king vulture is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is the only surviving member of the genus Sarcoramphus, although fossil members are known.
King vulture
Eleazar Albin's 1734 drawing which has sometimes been identified as a "painted vulture"
Soaring in Brazil
Side view of head, showing the king vulture's distinctive colorful head and beak
Cathartidae, known commonly as New World vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. They are known as "New World" vultures to distinguish them from Old World vultures, with which the Cathartidae does not form a single clade despite the two being similar in appearance and behavior as a result of convergent evolution.
Image: Urubu a tete rouge Turkey Vulture
Image: Turkeyvulturerange
Fossil of the extinct Breagyps clarki
The featherless head of the American black vulture, Coragyps atratus brasiliensis, reduces bacterial growth from eating carrion.
