|
Yellow-headed Vulture
Yellow-headed vulture may refer to two vulture species in the genus ''Cathartes''. They were considered one species until they were split in 1964: * Lesser yellow-headed vulture The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture unt ..., ''Cathartes burrovianus'' * Greater yellow-headed vulture, ''Cathartes melambrotus'' References [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathartes
The genus ''Cathartes'' includes medium-sized to large carrion-feeding birds in the New World vulture (Cathartidae) family. The three extant species currently classified in this genus occur widely in the Americas. There is one extinct species known from the Quaternary of Cuba. ''Cathartes'' is the Greek word καθαρτής, for "purifier," referring to these vultures' role as "cleansers" that "tidy up" decomposing corpses in nature. Taxonomy Description The first member of this genus to be formally described, the turkey vulture, was named by Linnaeus as ''Vultur aura'' in his ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758, but was eventually moved to the current genus which had been created by German zoologist Johann Illiger in 1811. The yellow-headed birds first described in 1845 by John Cassin were not split into two species until 1964. Systematics ''Cathartes'' is one of the five genera of New World vultures. The taxonomic placement of these vultures remains unclear.Remsen, J. V. J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture
The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in Mexico, Central America, and South America in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. It is a large bird, with a wingspan of . The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, are pale orange with red or blue areas. It lacks a syrinx, so therefore its vocalizations are limited to grunts or low hisses. The lesser yellow-headed vulture feeds on carrion and locates carcasses by sight and by smell, an ability which is rare in birds. It is dependent on larger vultures, such as the king vulture, to open the hides of larger animal carcasses as its bill is not strong enough to do this. Like other New World vultures, the lesser yell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
