King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)

Adult: Very large vulture with heavy bill, long legs and unique-shaped featherless head. Sexes are alike. Featherless head and neck. Mostly black hood with whitish stripes on cheek. Pink central crown stripe. Reddish-pink nape. Yellow-orange throat. Black and white ruff around the neck. White back, wings, rump, breast, belly and sides. Black tail and flight feathers. Large pink crop is featherless and often shows in the upper breast. Large orange wattle on the cere. Gray legs, white eyes and pink bill. Juvenile: Sooty brown or black overall with large black ruff and black down on the head. Dark beak and lacks wattle. 1st Year: Like juvenile except with white underparts with heavy black mottling. 2nd Year: Like juvenile except with pure white underparts and sooty upperparts. Wattle starts forming and bill tip starts turning pinkish. Head still has dark downy feathers. 3rd Year: Like adult except with dusky mottling on wings, an underdeveloped wattle and patchy down feathering on face, though skin coloring can be seen. Flight: Long, broad wings and fan-shaped tail. Direct flight with slow, deep wingbeats followed by a glide. Soars often on thermals. Habitat: Dry forests, undisturbed forests, savannas, montane foothills, grasslands, steppe and cattle ranches. Range: Resident from Oaxaca and Veracruz south throughout central America except northwestern Yucatan Peninsula. It is believed they be expanding their range northward along Mexico’s coastlines. Voice: Usually silent. Calls are normally a guttural growl or hissing, during courtship. Other nonvocal calls include bill snapping and clicking. Size: 28 to 32 inches long, 67 to 80 inch wingspan. Subspecies: Monotypic. Similar Species: Wood Stork has longer legs and long, curved bill. Maguari Stork has longer legs and a straight, longer bill. Mostly feathered head. Black Vultures are similar to juveniles. Much smaller has thinner, longer bill with no wattle. White wing patches in flight. Shorter tail. Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture has smaller head with thinner and two-toned wings. Turkey Vulture is smaller with thinner and two-toned wings.