Yellow-headed Vulture
It collaborates with other larger vultures
This raptor is a vulture living mainly in Central and South America. It feeds primarily on carrion, which it detects by flying low but especially by means of its highly developed sense of smell (which is rare in birds) thus detecting gases from the decomposition of carcasses.
As it is fairly small and its beak is not powerful enough to pierce the hide of a large carrion, it collaborates with other larger vultures that have a less developed sense of smell. Like all vultures, its stomach neutralises the toxins of the carrion, but it doesn’t eat carcasses that are overly decomposed.
It is a remarkable flyer, being able to glide for a long time without beating its wings, thanks to thermals. It lives in wetlands, mangrove swamps and sparse forests ; it is not a rare bird.
It doesn’t build nests but lays its eggs on the bare ground, in rocky areas or in tree hollows.
A less threatened species
- Name : Yellow-headed Vulture
- Latin name : Cathartes burrovianus
- Origin : Central America, Amazonia, the Guyana, Venezuela
- IUCN status : Least concerned
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