Greater Yellow-headed Vulture

Taxobox
name = Greater Yellow-headed Vulture

---

status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Falconiformes (disputed)
familia = Cathartidae
genus = "Cathartes"
species = "C. melambrotus"
binomial = "Cathartes melambrotus"
binomial_authority = Wetmore, 1964
synonyms =
range_

range_map_width=200px
range_map_caption =Approximate range/distribution map of the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, indicating countries of occurrence, rather than specific area occupied by the species. Based on IUCN data.The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, "Cathartes melambrotus", also known as the Forest Vulture, is a species of bird in the New World Vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in South America in tropical moist lowland forests. It is a large bird, with a wingspan of 166-178 centimeters (65-70 inches). The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, range in color from deep yellow to pale orange. It lacks a syrinx, and its vocalizations are therefore limited to grunts or low hisses.

The Greater 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 Greater Yellow-headed Vulture utilizes thermals to stay aloft with minimal effort. It lays its eggs on flat surfaces, such as the floors of caves, or in the hollows of stumps. It feeds its young by regurgitation.

Taxonomy

The Greater Yellow-headed and the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture were distinguished as separate species and described in 1964 by Alexander Wetmore; both species had earlier been known as Yellow-headed Vultures. The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture's genus is "Cathartes", which means "purifier", and is Latinized from the Greek "kathartēs"/καθαρτης. [ cite book|last=Liddell| first=Henry George|coauthor=Robert Scott|year=1980|title=Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition |publisher=Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 0-19-910207-4] The common name, vulture, is derived from the Latin word "vulturus", meaning "tearer," in reference to its feeding habits.cite book
last =Holloway
first =Joel Ellis
title =Dictionary of Birds of the United States: Scientific and Common Names
publisher =Timber Press
year =2003
pages =59
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=41knpiVqnKYC&pg=PA59&dq=Cathartes+aura+subject:%22Nature+/+Birds+%26+Birdwatching%22&as_brr=3&sig=YS_oepqlw59T9RxDny5KFtPliSQ
isbn =0881926000]

The exact taxonomic placement of the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture and the remaining six species of New World Vultures remains unclear. Although they are similar in appearance and have similar ecological roles, the New World and Old World Vultures evolved from different ancestors in different parts of the world. Just how different the two are is currently under debate, with some earlier authorities suggesting that the New World vultures are more closely related to storks. [Sibley, Charles G. and Burt L. Monroe. 1990. " [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300049692 Distribution and Taxonomy of the Birds of the World] ". Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04969-2. Accessed 2007-04-11.] More recent authorities assert their overall position in the order Falconiformes along with the Old World Vultures [Sibley, Charles G., and Jon E. Ahlquist. 1991. " [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300040857 Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution] ". Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04085-7. Accessed 2007-04-11.] or place them in their own order, Cathartiformes. [Ericson, Per G. P.; Anderson, Cajsa L.; Britton, Tom; Elżanowski, Andrzej; Johansson, Ulf S.; Kallersjö, Mari; Ohlson, Jan I.; Parsons, Thomas J.; Zuccon, Dario & Mayr, Gerald (2006): Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils. "Biology Letters" online: 1-5. DOI|10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523 [http://www.systbot.uu.se/staff/c_anderson/pdf/neoaves.pdf PDF preprint] [http://royalsociety.metapress.com/media/public/contributionsupplementalmaterials/0/5/8/3/058352377848735w/archive1.pdf Electronic Supplementary Material] (PDF)] The South American Classification Committee has removed the New World Vultures from Ciconiiformes and instead placed them in "Incertae sedis", but notes that a move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is possible.Remsen, J. V., Jr.; C. D. Cadena; A. Jaramillo; M. Nores; J. F. Pacheco; M. B. Robbins; T. S. Schulenberg; F. G. Stiles; D. F. Stotz & K. J. Zimmer. 2007. [http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html "A classification of the bird species of South America."] South American Classification Committee. Retrieved on 2007-10-15]

Description

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture is 64-75 centimeters (25-30 inches) in length, with a wingspan of 166-178 centimeters (65-70 inches) and a tail length of 25-29 centimeters (10-11.5 inches).cite book
last =Ferguson-Lees
first =James
coauthors =David A. Christie
title =Raptors of the World
publisher =Houghton Mifflin Field Guides
year =2001
pages =86
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=hlIztc05HTQC&pg=PA86&dq=Cathartes+aura+subject:%22Nature+/+Birds+%26+Birdwatching%22&as_brr=3&sig=PXtI2FVjA_oKlMWeYoD7-msqZI0#PPA86,M1 | isbn =0618127623 ] Its plumage is black with a green or purple sheen. The throat and the sides of the head are featherless. The skin on the head ranges in color from deep yellow to pale orange with a blue crown. [cite book
last = Brown, Leslie and DeanAmadon
title =Eagles, Hawks, and Falcons of the World
publisher =McGraw-Hill
year =1968
pages =178
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=fcM9AAAAIAAJ&q=%22Greater+Yellow-headed+Vulture%22+%2B+nest&dq=%22Greater+Yellow-headed+Vulture%22+%2B+nest&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1
isbn =155521472X ] The nape and the area near the nostrils are pale pinkish. The undersides of the wings are black, while the flight feathers are a lighter shade. The quills of the eleven primary feathers appear to be white when seen from above.cite book
last =Hilty
first =Stephen L.
title =A Guide to the Birds of Colombia
publisher =Princeton University Press
year =1977
pages =88
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=1k5fV_hQqE8C&pg=PA88&dq=Cathartes+melambrotus&as_brr=0&sig=tFHSOoZQy1Tc2nFxnoV3f8lj2Cs
isbn =069108372X ] The tail is rounded and long for a vulture, extending to or slightly beyond the tip of the closed wing. The sexes are outwardly similar. [cite book
last =Blake
first =Emmett Reid
title =Manual of Neotropical Birds
publisher =University of Chicago Press
year =1977
pages =262
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=YP0AX3LW8jYC&pg=RA2-PA262&dq=Cathartes+melambrotus+%2B+black&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=h4ARGewxVhakCgLiJQcZwCF_iho
isbn =0226056414 ] The head is dull greyish in juveniles, which otherwise resemble adults.

The irises of its eyes are red, its feet are black, and its beak is flesh-colored.cite web
last =Channing
first =Keith
title =Greater Yellow-headed Vulture
publisher =The Hawk Conservancy
url =http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/greateryellowheadedvulture.shtml
accessdate = 2007-10-02 ] The eye has a single incomplete row of eyelashes on the upper lid and two rows on the lower lid.Citation| last = Fisher| first = Harvey I.| title = The Pterylosis of the Andean Condor | journal = Condor| volume = 44 | issue = 1| pages = 30-32| date = February| year = 1942| url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-5422%28194201%2F02%2944%3A1%3C30%3ATPOTAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage] Its beak is thick, rounded, and hooked at the tip.cite book| last =Terres| first =J. K.| authorlink =John Kenneth Terres| title =The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds| publisher =Knopf| year =1980| location =New York, NY| pages = 957| isbn = 0394466519 ] Because of its habit of urohydrosis, the scaly portions of its legs are often streaked white with uric acid.The front toes are long with small webs at their bases and are not adapted to grasping. The opening of the nostril is longitudinal and set in a soft cere, and the nostril lack a septum. Like all New World Vultures, the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture lacks a syrinx, and is therefore unable to make any sound other than grunts or a low hiss.cite book
last =Feduccia
first =J. Alan
title =The Origin and Evolution of Birds
publisher =Yale University Press
year =1999
pages =300
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=8QRKV7eSqmIC&pg=PA300&dq=Cathartes+melambrotus+%2B+black&as_brr=0&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=BjxPgGtWEdfcd3N3O9WBACwOiDk#PPA300,M1
isbn =0226056414 ]

It differs in appearance from the similar Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture in several ways. It is larger than the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, with a longer, broader tail. The plumage is a dark, glossy black in contrast to the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture's browner plumage. Its legs are darker in color and its head is more yellow and less orange/pink than that of the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. Its wings are broader and its flight is also steadier.. Unlike the other members of the genus "Cathartes", the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture has relatively dark inner primaries, which contrast slightly with the paler secondaries and outer primaries. The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture prefers to live in forests while the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture prefers to inhabit savannas, and it is more heavily built than the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture.Citation| last = Amadon| first = Dean| title = Notes on the Taxonomy of Vultures| journal = Condor| volume = 79 | issue =4| pages = 413-416| year = 1977 | url = http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v079n04/p0413-p0416.pdf ]

Distribution and habitat

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture is found in the Amazon Basin of tropical South America; specifically in south-eastern Colombia, southern and eastern Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, northern and western Brazil, northern Bolivia, eastern Peru and eastern Ecuador. It is not found in the Andes, in the lowlands west or north of the Andes, in the relatively open regions of northern South America, eastern South America, or in the southern subtropical regions. It has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of convert|6700000 |km2|sqmi|1|lk=on|sp=us. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is not generally found in high-altitude regions.cite web
author =BirdLife International
title =Cathartes melambrotus
publisher =IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
year= 2004
url =http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/49650/all
accessdate = 2007-10-02 ] It is common in heavily forested regions. It may wander over grasslands, but rarely strays far from forested areas, which provide shelter and nesting areas.

Ecology and behavior

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture roosts on high, exposed dead trees to observe surrounding terrain. When flying, it travels in pairs or alone and is rarely found in groups. Flight is heavy and steady. It flies with its wings held flat or very slightly above horizontal, in what is called the dihedral position. The flight of the Greater Yellow-Headed is an example of static soaring flight, which uses thermals to maintain altitude without the need to flap its wings.The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture also has the unusual habit of urohydrosis, in which it urinates or defecates on its legs to cool them evaporatively. This behavior is exhibited by storks and New World vultures. [cite book
last =Sibley, Charles G. and Jon E. Ahlquist
title =Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution
publisher =Yale University Press
year =1991
url= http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300040857
isbn = 0-300-04085-7]

Diet

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture is a scavenger and subsists entirely on carrion. It will eat roadkill or other animal carcasses. It prefers fresh meat, but often cannot make the first cut into the carcass of a larger animal as its beak is not strong enough to tear into the tough hide. After a few days, the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture will no longer feed on a piece of carrion, as the meat will begin to decay and become contaminated with microbial toxins. It will drink water from a pool, pond, or any receptacle provided. Like other vultures, they play an important role in the ecosystem by disposing off carrion which could otherwise be a breeding ground for disease.

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture forages using its keen eyesight to locate carrion on the ground, but also uses its sense of smell, an ability which is uncommon in the avian world. It locates carrion by detecting the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals.The olfactory lobe of its brain responsible for processing smells is particularly large compared to other animals.cite book
last = Snyder, Noel F. R. and Helen Snyder
title =Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation
publisher =Voyageur Press
page=40
year =2006
url= http://books.google.com/books?id=g6aOgkIbEwEC&pg=PA40&dq=Cathartes+aura&as_brr=3&sig=Zc-vwBBgjWSMDx56CatOgteVOtI#PPA40,M1
isbn = 0760325820] This characteristic of New World Vultures has been used by humans: ethyl mercaptan is injected into pipelines, and engineers looking for leaks then follow the vultures. [cite web
title =Avian Olfaction
publisher =Cornell University
url =http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/psych396/student2002/hcs7/
accessdate = 2007-10-25 ]

King Vultures, which lack the ability to smell carrion, follow the Greater Yellow-headed Vultures to carcasses, where the King Vulture tears open the skin of the dead animal. This allows the smaller Greater Yellow-headed Vulture access to food, as it does not have a bill strong enough to tear the hide of larger animals. This is an example of mutual dependence between species. [cite book
last =Muller-Schwarze
first =Dietland
title =Chemical Ecology of Vertebrates
publisher =Cambridge University Press
page=350
year =2006
url= Chemical Ecology of Vertebrates
isbn = 0521363772] It is generally displaced from carcasses by both Turkey Vultures and King Vultures, due to their larger size.cite journal
last =Gomez, LG; Houston, DC; Cotton, P; Tye, A
title = The role of greater yellow-headed vultures Cathartes melambrotus as scavengers in neotropical forest
journal = Ibis
volume =136
issue =2
pages =193–196
publisher =
location =
year =1994
url =http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=ENV&recid=3646491&q=Cathartes+melambrotus&uid=791396595&setcookie=yes
accessdate = 2007-10-03
doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1994.tb01084.x ]

Reproduction

Greater Yellow-headed Vultures do not build nests, but rather lay their eggs directly on cliffs, the floors of caves, the ground, or in the hollows of stumps. Eggs are cream-colored and blotched with brown spots, particularly around the larger end. Clutch size ranges from one to three, though two is the norm. The chicks are altricial—blind, naked and relatively immobile upon hatching, and grow down feathers later. The parents feed their young by regurgitating pre-digested food into their beak, where the chicks then drink it. Young fledge after two to three months. [Howell, Steve N.G., and Sophie Webb (1995). "A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America." New York: Oxford University Press, page 174. ISBN 0-19-854012-4.]

Conservation

The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture is listed as a species of Least Concern by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It has an estimated global range of 6,700,000 square kilometers (2,586,884.5 square miles) and a population of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 individuals.BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Cathartes melambrotus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 6/10/2007] There is evidence that suggests a decline in the species' population, but it is not significant enough to warrant an upgrade in conservation status.

ources

External links

* [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/greater%20yellow-headed%20vulture.html Greater Yellow-headed Vulture‎ pictures]