This stunning South American bird is perhaps the most beautiful of all the vultures. The adult is mostly white with contrasting black secondary wing coverts, secondaries, primaries, rump and tail. The neck is yellow and orange with a soft grey ruff at the base. The ornately wrinkled head is a mixture of yellow, red, blue, black and purple. The eye is ringed with red, the iris is white and the pupil black. The beak and fleshy caruncle are bright orange. Adults are identical.

What They Eat
Like other vultures, the King Vulture is a carrion feeder, relying on mostly mammals including livestock. They appear not to feed on snakes, small rodents or fish.

Where They Live
Found from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, this is a bird of the tropical rainforests and wooded lowlands from sea level up to 3000 feet.

What They Do
This King Vulture is not colonial like many other vultures. They are seen most often singly or in pairs, even at a carcass. The King Vulture is an expert glider, it can soar for hours without flapping its wings and from a distance the vulture can appear to be headless while in flight.

How They’re Doing
The King Vulture seems to be relatively adaptable but does rely on tropical forests for survival. Interestingly, this bird seems to have disappeared from areas where the Scarlet Macaw, not a particularly adaptable species, has also declined or disappeared.

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King Vulture

King Vulture