Bartram's Painted Vulture: a Bird Deserving Recognition
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Amazing Facts the King Vulture Is the Only Surviving Member of the Genus Sarcoramphus
King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa Bird Scientific Name Sarcoramphus papa Other Names None Range South and Central America from Mexico to northern Argentina Habitat Savannas, tropical forests and grasslands Description A large, white vulture with grayish-black wings and tail feathers, and a pronounced skin flap (caruncle) on the upper beak. The head and neck are bald with the skin color varying in Behavior color including yellow, orange, blue, purple, These birds are diurnal, spending their daytime hours soaring high in and red. the sky on thermals searching for food using keen eyesight. They are Average Size considered resident birds that are non-migratory and maintain a set Height: 20 in. home range. King Vultures are often seen alone or in small family groups Wingspan: 5.5 – 6.5 ft. numbering approximately 15 individuals, and will tolerate other animals and Weight: 6 – 10 lbs. vulture species in the same proximity. Even though they are the dominant vulture at the feeding site and usually the first to arrive, they are not Lifespan territorial with the smaller vultures that feed alongside them. In the wild: Estimated at 25 years The head and neck of the King Vulture lack feathers to help prevent In captivity: Up to 35 years infections and to keep the remains of the carcass from damaging the feathers. After eating, Vultures relax in the sun and allow the heat to bake Diet off the bacteria. In the wild: Carrion In captivity: Rodents, fish and prepared meat Reproduction and Breeding Incubation There is limited information on wild courtship and breeding of this species, 53 – 58 days but because they breed well in captivity, there is reliable data from numerous captive settings. -
Species List for Svalbard Birds and Mammals
Falkland Islands Circumnavigation – A South Atlantic bird & wildlife spectacle Falkland Islands There is no other groups of islands in the entire Atlantic Ocean which allows fairly easy access to such a diversity of spectacular bird species under such a mild climate and with such a variety of marine mammals thrown in. The Falkland Islands are known to most people today more for their recent political history than their natural history. And even to many nature lovers, the Falklands are often seen as secondary compared to the neighbouring Antarctica and South Georgia. This voyage aims to set the record straight: The Falkland Islands are worth every minute of a two-week circumnavigation, and they will provide us with a long string of wonderful encounters with penguins (4-5 species), albatrosses, cormorants, ducks and geese, raptors, shore birds, song birds and more – as well as seals and sea lions, whales and dolphins. We will see a variety of the islands’ unique landscapes of rolling hills, stone runs, rugged shorelines, pristine white beaches and lush giant kelp beds. We will see the endemic bird species and several near-endemic ones as well, and we intend to visit the southern hemisphere’s largest albatross colony on Steeple Jason. There will be time enough to allow for prolonged visits to the most magnificent of the sites during the best of the weather conditions. The group will be small enough to allow for great flexibility and individual attention. Tour Description Dates: December 3 - 17, 2016. Price: Starting at US$ 8.500,- Group size: Minimum 8, maximum 11. -
Temperature Regulation in Turkey Vultures
TheCondor90:913-919 0 TheCooper Ornithological Society 1988 TEMPERATURE REGULATION IN TURKEY VULTURES ZEEV ARAD Department of Biology, Technion,Haifa 32000, Israel MARVIN H. BERNSTEIN Department of Biology,New Mexico State University,Las Cruces,NM 88003 Abstract. Temperature regulation by six Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura) was studied at ambient temperatures (T,) from 11 to 40°C in a metabolic chamber. Within this range body temperature varied little, averaging 39.7”C, and the ratio of CO, production to 0, consumption averaged 0.76. The thermal-neutral zone (TNZ) extended from 26 to 40°C. Below 26°C evaporative water loss and the heat-transfercoefficient were minimal, reflecting maximum insulation, and breathing and heart rates remained nearly constantat 10 and 142 min-I, respectively. Oxygen consumption increased by 12 ~1 0, STPD/(g hr) per “C of decreasein T, below 26°C so the percentageof metabolic heat lost by evaporation decreased from 22 to 13%. Within the TNZ 0, consumption was minimal, averaging 0.73 ml STPD/(g hr), but evaporation increased exponentially, dissipating metabolic heat to a maximum of about 90% at 40°C. Insulation decreasedexponentially within the TNZ. Despite this, however, the birds underwent rapid hyperthermia above 40°C. The likely explanation for this is that under the present experimental conditions the Turkey Vultures could not make use of important behavioral components of their thermoregulatoryrepertoire, including neck ex- tension, wing spreading,and urination on the legs. Were this not so they likely would have exhibited areater reduction in insulation and tolerated higher T.. The thermal relations of Turkey Viltures were similar to those calculated from allomeiric relations and to those measured previously in the closely related, partially sympatric Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus). -
The Reintroduction of Eurasian Griffon Monachus Vultures to France
Chancellor, R. D. & B.-U. Meyburg eds. 2004 Raptors Worldwide WWGBP/MME A Success Story: The Reintroduction of Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus and Black Aegypius monachus Vultures to France Michel Terrasse, François Sarrazin, Jean-Pierre Choisy, Céline Clémente, Sylvain Henriquet, Philippe Lécuyer, Jean Louis Pinna, and Christian Tessier ABSTRACT By the end of the 1960s, the future of vultures in France appeared bleak. Apart from the western half of the Pyrenees, with residual populations of Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus and Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus, and Corsica with a few Bearded Vultures, most of France had lost its large vultures including the Black Vulture Aegypius monachus. Within the scope of a national conservation campaign, a process to restore raptor communities began. Concerning vultures, this was completed through reintroduction programmes. After the success of the Griffon Vulture reintroduction, started in 1968 in the Grands Causses of the Massif Central, other programmes followed in the 90s: Black Vultures in the Massif Central and then Griffon Vultures in the Southern Alps. In 2003 a viable population of Griffon Vultures in the Massif Central contained around 110 pairs. The same situation occurred in the Alps with about 50 breeding pairs of Griffon Vultures. Ten years after the beginning of the Black Vulture releases, the free ranging population included 11 breeding pairs. Accurate monitoring during the reintroduction period allowed us to estimate demographic parameters such as survival and breeding rates, evolution of breeding and foraging territories, main threats, movements between reintroduced populations and those from neighbouring countries, acceptance by people and the beneficial part played by vultures in what is called sustainable development. -
The Andean Condor: a Field Study ______
_____________________________________ THE ANDEAN CONDOR: A FIELD STUDY _____________________________________ By: Jerry McGahan Box 71 Arlee, MT 59821 (406) 726-3480 [email protected] JerryMcGahan.com With photographs, field, and clerical assistance by: Libby Sale Dedicated to the Memory of Carlos Lehmann V Maria Koepcke Enrique Avila William Millie i Table of Contents PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDMENTS……………………………………………………… 1 1 THE STUDY .............................................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 6 STUDY AREAS .............................................................................................................. 15 Colombia .............................................................................................................. 15 Cerro Illescas ....................................................................................................... 18 Paracas ................................................................................................................ 20 THE SUBJECT ................................................................................................................ 21 Taxonomy ............................................................................................................. 21 Description ........................................................................................................... 22 -
A Condor from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas
338 Vol. 61 A CONDOR FROM THE UPPER PLIOCENE OF KANSAS By HARRISON B. TORDOFF Until recently, vulture remains were absent from the collection of several hundred fossil avian bones collected over the past twenty years by Claude W. Hibbard and his associatesin Kansas. This gap in the otherwise fairly complete Rexroad avifauna of the Upper Pliocene was filled in the summer of 1958, when Hibbard’s party found a tarso- metatarsus in nearly perfect condition. The bone is that of an undescribed American vulture which was larger than a modern King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) but smaller than a California Condor (Gymnogyps californa'anus). The fossil and Recent speciesof the Cathartidae are well known through the careful work of Loye Miller, Hildegarde Howard, and Harvey I. Fisher, whose researchesprovide a sound basis for study of this new vulture. The Rexroad speciesappears to parallel Teratornis merriami in some respects.Never- theless, it clearly belongs to the Cathartidae rather than to the Teratornithidae because it has the following distinctively cathartid characteristics (Miller and Howard, 1938: 169) : Facet for metatarsal I faces posterolaterally rather than posteriorly as in Terator- nithidae; intercotylar tuberosity high and conspicuous, not low and rounded; hypo- tarsal block not as symmetrically quadrangular as in Teratornithidae and separated from head of tarsometatarsus by a narrow groove, rather than by a broad, smooth de- pression; excavation of shaft on anterior face below head deep and sharply vaulted proximally, instead of blending into head as in Teratornithidae (Cathartes, however, re- sembles the Teratornithidae in this respect, rather than its relatives in the Cathartidae). -
Greater Yellow&Hyphen;Headed Vulture &Lpar;<I>Cathartes
38 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 26, NO. 1 j RaptorRes. 26(1):38-39 ¸ 1992 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc. GREATER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE ( Cathartesrnelarnbrotus) LOCATES FOOD BY OLFACTION GARY R. GRAVES Departmentof VertebrateZoology, National Museum of Natural History, SmithsonianInstitution, Washington, DC 20560 Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura) and LesserYellow- (6-8 m) was exceedinglydense, the carcasscould not be headed Vultures (Cathartesburrovianus) have acute senses observedfrom the air. Presumably,the vulture landedon of smell(Stager 1964, Houston1986, 1988). Althoughthe the trail and approachedthe carcass,some 10 m from the olfactorycapacities of the Greater Yellow-headedVulture trail edge, on foot. (C. melambrotus)are unknown, they are thought to be On another occasion,a pair of Greater Yellow-headed similar to thoseof its congeners(Houston 1988). Here I Vultures discovereda cacheof day-old flesh from a large report observationsthat stronglysuggest the use of smell museum specimenof the Brazilian Porcupine (Coendou by this speciesto locatecarrion. Collectively,these data prehensilis)that had been dumped200 m from camp at indicate that acute olfaction is a shared derived character the end of a poorly marked trail. The fleshhad beenpartly of Catharteswithin the Cathartidae, as reflectedby the covered with leaf litter and was further obscured from large olfactory lobe (Bangs 1964, pers. observation). view by the canopyof tall (30 m) seasonallyflooded forest. I made daily observationsof vulture abundanceand The cachewas difficult for me to visually locatewhen I behavior on the east bank of the Rio Xingu (3ø39'S returned to the area, and in all likelihood, could not have 52ø22'W), 52 km SSW of Altamira, Patti, Brazil (Graves beenobserved by vulturesflying abovethe canopy.In both and Zusi 1990), from 14 August to 29 September 1986. -
King Vultures &Lpar;<I>Sarcoramphus Papa</I>&Rpar; Forage in Moriche
458 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 39, NO. 4 j. RaptorRes. 39(4):458-461 ¸ 2005 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc. KING VULTURES(SARCORAMPHUS PAPA) FORAGE IN MORICHE AND CUCURIT PALM STANDS MARSHA A. SCHLEE1 MusgumNational dZIistoire Naturelie, Dgpartement t•cologie etGestion dela Biodiversitg,USM 0305, CP 31 Mgnagene, 57 rue Cuvig 75231 Paris cedex05, France KEYWORDS: Kit'•gVulture,, Sarcoramphus papa; Mauritia batana). The moriche palms (Mauritia flexuosa)can be flexuosa;Attalea maripa palms;wedge-capped capuchin mon- found scatteredin the gallery forests or in stands (mor- keys;Cebus olivaceus;foraging association. ichales;see GonzftlezBoscfm 1987) in the seasonallyIn- undated areasof the valley.The morichefruits, 3-7 cm long, ovate to globular and having an oily mesocarp Feeding on palm fruit, particularly drupes of the Af- (Borgtoft Pedersenand Balslev1990), fall to the ground rican oil palm (Elaeisguineensis), has been documented when almost ripe and accumulate in the water among for severalOld World speciesof birds of prey (Thiollay fallen fronds and debris. Cucurit palms (Attaleamaripa = 1978, Barlow 2004). In the New World, fruits of the im- Maximilianaregia) occur as standswithin the gallery for- ported African oil palm havebeen consumedby the Tur- estson dry terrain. The fruits, ovate,5-7 cm long, are key Vulture (Cathartesaura ruficollis;Pinto 1965), Yellow- alsorich in oil (Braun 1997). The observationsreported headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima;Haverschmidt here took place during the rainy season,which lastsApril 1962), and -
Competitive Interactions Within and Between Species in a Guild of Avian Scavengers
COMPETITIVE INTERACTIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECIES IN A GUILD OF AVIAN SCAVENGERS MICHAEL P. WALLACE AND STANLEY A. TEMPLE Departmentof WildlifeEcology, University of Wisconsin,Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA ABSTRACT.--Weobserved Andean Condors(Vultur gryphus),King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa),Black Vultures (Coragypsatratus), Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura), and CrestedCara- caras(Polyborus plancus) interacting at 217 animal carcassesat two sitesin northern Peru. At 53 carcassesfor which we knew order of arrival, Turkey Vulturesusually arrived first, Black Vulturessecond, and condorsthird. On the basisof our observationsof 8,066 aggressive encountersbetween birds, we constructeddominance hierarchies by calculatingthe propor- tion of encounterswon by an individualof one species,sex, or age during encounterswith an individual of another species,sex, or age. Within each speciesthere was a positive rela- tionship between a bird's dominanceand its age. In condors,males dominatedfemales of the sameage. Interspecificdominance was correlatedpositively with body mass.There are convergentsimilarities between the organizationsof guildsof Old and New World vultures. ReceivedI August1986, accepted24 November1986. WHENlimited resourcesare found in •9idely coramphuspapa), Black Vultures (Coragypsatra- dispersed,rich patchesthat are ephemeral and tus), Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), and unpredictable in spatial and temporal occur- Crested Caracaras(Polyborus plancus). We have rence, competition between consumers could shown previously that during -
Self-Injurious Behavior of a Captive Coragyps Atratus
The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal (URJ) Volume 11 Issue 1 Article 5 2020 Self-Injurious Behavior of a Captive Coragyps atratus Jennifer Bouchenot University of Central Florida Part of the Zoology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Office of Undergraduate Research at STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal (URJ) by an authorized editor of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Bouchenot, Jennifer (2020) "Self-Injurious Behavior of a Captive Coragyps atratus," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal (URJ): Vol. 11 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol11/iss1/5 Bouchenot: Self-Injurious Behavior of a Captive Coragyps atratus Published Vol. 11.1: 38-44 July 25, 2019 THE PEGASUS REVIEW: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL Self-Injurious Behavior of a Captive Coragyps atratus By: Jennifer Bouchenot Faculty Mentor: Frank Logiudice UCF Department of Biology ABSTRACT: As zoos become more numerous the challenge for keepers to ensure animal well-being and identify adverse behaviors becomes immense. Intelligent animals in captivity have a higher likelihood of participating in selfharm activities compared to their wild counterparts. Feather picking in birds is one such adverse behavior characterized by the individual breaking or removing feathers and, in severe cases, excision of the skin. This behavior increases the susceptibility to sickness and infection. In this study, a feather-picking captive Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) was observed preening, resting, and displaying self-mutilating behavior. -
Mexican Eagles by Susan Heath Have You Seen a Mexican Eagle? If You Live Along the Texas Coast Chances Are You Have, Even If
Mexican Eagles By Susan Heath Have you seen a Mexican Eagle? If you live along the Texas coast chances are you have, even if you didn’t realize it. “Mexican Eagle” is a colloquial name for the Crested Caracara, which is a common bird along the coast and the south Texas brush country. They are less common in oaks and prairies area of the state, and not present at all in the west or panhandle. Their range is mostly in Mexico and Central America so we are lucky to have them here in Texas. The only other U.S. states with caracaras are Arizona and Florida. Caracaras look like hawks with a sharp bill and talons but they behave more like a vulture by feasting on carrion. In fact, they are actually a tropical falcon as their range implies. Although they are most easily seen eating roadkill with vultures, they will also take live prey. They are quite omnivorous in their diet and will wade in shallow water to catch fish, dig up turtle eggs with their strong feet, or follow farm tractors catching escaping animals. Often they fall back on following vultures to carcasses. They can’t open up a carcass by themselves though and must wait for a vulture or other raptor to do that for them. The Caracara’s body and wings are black but they are easy to recognize with a black cap and orange face set off by a white neck. Their legs are orange too and they are quite a handsome bird if you take the time to notice. -
Crested Caracara in Arizona: Background & Recent Expansion
Arizona Birds - Journal of Arizona Field Ornithologists Volume 2015 CRESTED CARACARA IN ARIZONA: BACKGROUND & RECENT EXPANSION DOUG JENNESS, 4375 E. Rollins Rd., Tucson, AZ 85739, [email protected] ABSTRACT: This paper reviews the research history on the Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) in Arizona and summarizes the current knowledge of caracara distribution, which shows that caracaras are expanding in the state. I show that part of this expansion is reflected by new field observations and data documenting nesting northeast of its previously known breeding territory, as well as the extent of nonbreeding caracaras to wander and socially forage in the state. The Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway; Fig 1), a unique member of the falconidae, is found in the southern United States, parts of Mexico and Central America, northern South America, and Cuba (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). In the United States it breeds in central Florida, the southwestern corner of Louisiana, southern Texas, and southern Arizona (Morrison and Dwyer 2012, Wheeler 2003). Caracaras in Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona are contiguous with breeding populations in Mexico. The Florida population is isolated and has been classified as threatened by state and federal governments since 1987 (Morrison and Dwyer 2012). In 1986, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) contracted Levy to conduct a “status survey” of the Crested Caracara in Arizona with funds from Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act (fide R. Glinski). This three- Figure 1: Adult Crested Caracara at Santa Cruz Flats, year study, conducted on the Tohono O’odham Nation, Pinal Co., Arizona, 29 November 2013. Photo by Muriel remains the principal source for our understanding of Neddermeyer caracara breeding behavior in Arizona.