VULTURE

 KING VULTURE

This bird is a large scavenger bird with wingspan up to 6.5 feet. These birds weight up to about 7.5 pounds. They have an orange fleshy carbuncle on the beak. The rest of the animal is predominantly white (back and belly) with black wings. They lack a voice box but can make low croaking noises.

Figure 1. Image of a vulture via the Smithsonian Institution (open access).

This bird lives in tropical forests from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is non-migratory. They will just anything but especially like carrion (e.g., dead meaty cattle and dead fish). It can lives 30 years in captivity. They live alone. They can soar for hours over  mountains.

Classification

Kingdom Animala

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Accipitriformes

Family Cathartidae

Genus Sarcoamphus

Type Species S. papa

This species is the last surviving species of this genus. Their numbers are decreasing primarily due to habitat loss.

Reference

Wikipedia, 2026