King Vulture

NAME:

King Vulture

CLASS:

Aves

SPECIES:

Sarcoramphus papa

LENGTH:

Body Length 27 to 32 Inches

WEIGHT:

6 to 10 Pounds

LIFESPAN:

Unknown in the Wild ( 30 Years in Captivity )

DIET:

Carrion

PREDATORS:

None

RANGE

Southern Mexico to Southern Argentina

HABITAT

These large scavengers live in the uppermost branches of emergent canopy trees.

CHARACTERISTICS

The king vulture is one of the larger species of vulture. Unlike other vultures, which are dark in color, king vultures are creamy white, with darker tail-features. The feathers around their heads and necks are blue, red, orange and yellow. The skin drooping over their beak, called a wattle, is a bright red-orange. Their beak is thick and strong, great for shredding flesh, and their long thick claws are good for keeping a tight grip on their dinner.

BEHAVIOR

A King Vultures sense of smell is not as good as other types of vultures. When they see that other scavenger birds have discovered a meal, they will swoop down from the sky. The other birds will usally move out of the way for the “King”.

REPRODUCTION

These birds nest on the ground, and females lay a single egg that parents incubate. Both parents also care for infants, bringing back dinner in their stomachs and regurgitating it for their young to enjoy.

THREATS

Populations of King Vultures are in decline due to habitat destruction.