King vulture
The king vulture, known scientifically as Sarcoramphus papa, is the largest vulture species in the Americas, measuring between 26 to 32 inches (67 to 81 cm) in length and weighing between 6 to 10 pounds (2.5 to 4.5 kg). This striking bird features a brightly colored, bare head and neck, exhibiting shades of red, orange, yellow, and purplish-blue, along with distinctive wattles and cere. Its body is covered in creamy-white plumage, while its wings and tail feathers are black. King vultures typically inhabit tropical rainforests and savanna grasslands, where they often soar on thermal updrafts in search of carrion.
Renowned for its dominant presence at feeding sites, the king vulture is often treated as "king" by other scavenging birds, which allow it to eat first from carcasses. These vultures primarily feed on dead animals and possess strong eyesight to locate food. During breeding, which occurs mainly in the dry season, a female lays a single egg, which both parents help incubate. After about 52 to 58 days, the chick hatches and relies on regurgitated food from its parents for nourishment. While facing threats from predators like large cats and snakes, the king vulture is currently not considered threatened, although habitat destruction poses a risk to its population.
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King vulture
The name of the king vulture comes from the fact that other birds treat it as though it were the king of birds. When this bird appears at a feeding site, all the other birds stop feeding in order to let it eat. It is the largest of the seven species of vultures which live on the American continents.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cathartiformes
Family: Cathartidae
Genus: Sarcoramphus
Species: Papa
This large bird of prey, or raptor, is between 26 and 32 inches (67 to 81 centimeters) long from the hook of its beak to the tip of its tail. It weighs six to 10 pounds (2 1/2 to 4 1/2 kilograms). The bright head and neck of the vulture are bare of plumage and are a mixture of red, orange, yellow, and purplish-blue skin. Loose folds of skin called wattles decorate the sides of the head and the back of the neck. Orange, fleshy swellings of skin called cere sit atop the base of the upper part of the bird's reddish-orange, hooked beak. Creamy-white plumage covers the body and the forward edges of the vulture's wings. Its flight and tail feathers are black. The king vulture is the larger than any of the other six species of vultures in the new world, which is partly because of its four-to-seven-foot (one-to-two-meter) wingspan.
Tropical rain forests and savanna grasslands are the habitats of the king vulture. A king vulture lives alone most of the time, but it may occasionally soar on a thermal with three or four other vultures. The birds soar and glide on these rising currents of warm air as they look for food during the day. The vultures may have a strong sense of smell, but they certainly have sharp eyesight and remain alert for any signs of food on the forest or grassland floor. The objects of their appetites are the carcasses, or dead bodies, of animals. King vultures often follow other birds of prey to food and then drive them away. This is the reason for their name, since the other birds treat the vultures as kings and let them eat first. As many as 50 vultures may feed on one carcass. The powerful, hooked beaks of the vultures rip into the bodies and tear the carrion, or dead animal flesh. Since the birds do not have feathers on their heads and necks, they do not become as messy and dirty from the blood.
Breeding season varies from place to place among king vultures. It is usually during the dry season. The birds court each other by whistling, hissing, flapping their wings, and circling each other. After mating, the female lays one white egg in a hollow tree stump. The male helps her incubate the egg until it hatches 52 to 58 days later. The vulture chick and the female eat regurgitated carrion from the male. Nearly three months after hatching, the chick has all its flight feathers and can fly from the stump. It remains dependent upon its parents until it is eight months old and may stay near them for a total of two years. By the time it is three or four years old, the young vulture has its adult plumage, bright head colors, and is able to mate for the first time.
King vultures may live up to 30 years. Predators of the king vulture include large cats and snakes which prey on the young and eggs. The king vulture faces no other serious threats other than the deforestation of its habitat. It is not a threatened species.
Bibliography
Sartore, Joel. “King Vulture.” National Geographic, 2024, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/king-vulture. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Smithsonian Institution. “King Vulture - Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.” National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/king-vulture. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.