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Line 1: − [[File:Vultures.jpg|thumbnail|right|300px|Turkey vultures and black vultures+ − <br />+ − <br />+ − <small>(photo obtained from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/djblock99/3123973410/ Flickr], see: [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en license agreement])</small>]]+ − A '''vulture''' is a [[scavenger]] well-known for the eating of [[carrion]]. It is considered unclean by the [[Jew]]s.+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + + − ::[[Greater yellow-headed vulture]], ''Cathartes melambrotus'' Line 20:
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{{Taxonomy
|name=Vulture
|image=
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Aves
|subclass=Neornithes
|infraclass=
|superorder=
|order=Falconiformes
|suborder=
|infraorder=
|superfamily=
|family=
|subfamily=
|supertribe=
|tribe=
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=
|subgenus=
|species=
|binomialname=
|sub=
|alt=
}}
'''Vulture''' refers to 23 species of scavenging birds of the order Falconiformes, comprising two families distantly related to each other: the New World vultures of the family Cathartidae, and the Old World vultures of the family Accipitridae, whose relatives include eagles, hawks, and kites.
==Description==
Vultures range in size from the crow-sized [[Egyptian vulture]] to the very large [[condor]]s of the Americas, among the largest living flying birds. With few exceptions, vultures possess a head and neck devoid of feathers, enabling them to reach well inside animal carcasses without matting their feathers with blood. They have weak feet, adapted for walking rather than killing prey. Their wings are large and broad, which they use for effortless soaring. Eyesight is powerful in all species, and they can locate a carcass up to a mile away, while in a few New World species the sense of smell is also used, a rarity among birds.
Apart from Australia and many oceanic islands, vultures are world-wide, found generally in the tropics, with a few species ranging into temperate zones. They are open-country birds, spending hours aloft soaring on thermal updrafts to locate a dead or dying animal; when found a large flock will quickly gather, often from miles away. A social order takes place on the carcass, with the birds bearing the largest size feeding first, followed by the smaller birds. All give way, however, to any mammal scavenger who comes upon the carcass, such as hyenas and jackals.
Old World vultures build nests, usually large, and sometimes in large colonies, laying a single egg. New World vultures lay as much as two eggs in tree or cliff cavities, with none nesting in a colony.
==Species==
==Species==
===New World vultures===
===New World vultures===
Found in the Americas, these birds are characterized from Old World vultures by a reliance on scent to find a carcass. Five genera, seven species:
Found in the Americas, these birds are characterized from Old World vultures via a perforated nasal septum and by a reliance on scent in some species to find a carcass. All lack a syrinx, i.e. they are not vocal. Five genera, seven species:
*Genus ''Cathartes''
*Genus ''Cathartes''
::[[Greater yellow-headed vulture]], ''Cathartes melambrotus''
::[[Lesser yellow-headed vulture]], ''Cathartes burrovianus''
::[[Lesser yellow-headed vulture]], ''Cathartes burrovianus''
::[[Turkey vulture]], ''Cathartes aura''
::[[Turkey vulture]], ''Cathartes aura''
*Genus ''Coragyps''
*Genus ''Coragyps''
*Genus ''Sarcoramphus''
*Genus ''Sarcoramphus''
::[[King vulture]], ''Sarcoramphus papa''
::[[King vulture]], ''Sarcoramphus papa''
*Genus ''Gymnogyps''
*Genus ''Vultur''
::[[Andean condor]], ''Vultur gryphus''
::[[Andean condor]], ''Vultur gryphus''
::[[White-headed vulture]], ''Trigonoceps occipitalis''
::[[White-headed vulture]], ''Trigonoceps occipitalis''
[[Category:Birds of Prey]]
[[Category:Birds of Prey]][[Category:Birds]]