Difference between revisions of "New World vulture" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
Line 39: Line 39:
 
==Distribution and habitat==
 
==Distribution and habitat==
  
−
=== Behavior and diet ===
+
== Behavior and diet ==
 
[[Image:Coragyps-atratus-002.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The featherless head of the American Black Vulture, ''Coragyps atratus brasiliensis'', reduces bacterial growth from eating carrion.]]
 
[[Image:Coragyps-atratus-002.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The featherless head of the American Black Vulture, ''Coragyps atratus brasiliensis'', reduces bacterial growth from eating carrion.]]
 
All living species of New World vultures and condors are [[scavengers]].  Though their diet is overwhelmingly composed of [[carrion]], some species such as the [[American Black Vulture]] have been recorded as killing live prey.  Other additions to the diet include fruit, eggs, and garbage. An unusual characteristic of the species in genus ''Cathartes'' is a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to find carrion. They locate carrion by detecting the scent of [[Ethanethiol|ethyl mercaptan]], a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals.
 
All living species of New World vultures and condors are [[scavengers]].  Though their diet is overwhelmingly composed of [[carrion]], some species such as the [[American Black Vulture]] have been recorded as killing live prey.  Other additions to the diet include fruit, eggs, and garbage. An unusual characteristic of the species in genus ''Cathartes'' is a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to find carrion. They locate carrion by detecting the scent of [[Ethanethiol|ethyl mercaptan]], a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals.
 
The [[Olfaction|olfactory lobe]] of the [[brain]]s in these species, which is responsible for processing smells, is particularly large compared to that of other animals.<ref>Snyder (2006):p 40</ref> Other species such as the American Black Vulture and the King Vulture have weak senses of smell and find food only by sight, sometimes by following ''Cathartes'' vultures and other scavengers.<ref> Kemp and Newton (2003):p. 147</ref>  The head and neck of New World Vultures are featherless as an adaptation for hygiene; this lack of feathers prevents [[bacteria]] from the [[carrion]] it eats from ruining its feathers and exposes the skin to the sterilizing effects of the sun.<ref name="Who ">{{cite web | title =Sarcoramphus papa | author= | publisher =Who Zoo | url = http://whozoo.org/Anlife99/scottmen/newvulture.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-11}}</ref>
 
The [[Olfaction|olfactory lobe]] of the [[brain]]s in these species, which is responsible for processing smells, is particularly large compared to that of other animals.<ref>Snyder (2006):p 40</ref> Other species such as the American Black Vulture and the King Vulture have weak senses of smell and find food only by sight, sometimes by following ''Cathartes'' vultures and other scavengers.<ref> Kemp and Newton (2003):p. 147</ref>  The head and neck of New World Vultures are featherless as an adaptation for hygiene; this lack of feathers prevents [[bacteria]] from the [[carrion]] it eats from ruining its feathers and exposes the skin to the sterilizing effects of the sun.<ref name="Who ">{{cite web | title =Sarcoramphus papa | author= | publisher =Who Zoo | url = http://whozoo.org/Anlife99/scottmen/newvulture.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-11}}</ref>
  
−
=== Reproduction ===
+
== Reproduction ==
 
New World vultures and condors do not build nests. Instead, they lay eggs on bare surfaces.  One to three eggs are laid, depending on the species.<ref name="Zim:2001" />  Chicks are naked at hatching and later grow [[down feather|down]].  The parents feed the young by [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitation]].<ref name="Terres:1991-p957" /> The young are [[altricial]] and fledge in 2 to 3 months.<ref name="Howell-and-Webb:1995" />
 
New World vultures and condors do not build nests. Instead, they lay eggs on bare surfaces.  One to three eggs are laid, depending on the species.<ref name="Zim:2001" />  Chicks are naked at hatching and later grow [[down feather|down]].  The parents feed the young by [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitation]].<ref name="Terres:1991-p957" /> The young are [[altricial]] and fledge in 2 to 3 months.<ref name="Howell-and-Webb:1995" />
  
−
===Taxonomy and evolution===
+
==Taxonomy and evolution==
 
[[Image:VultureBeak.png |thumb|The New World vultures have a pervious nostril]]
 
[[Image:VultureBeak.png |thumb|The New World vultures have a pervious nostril]]
 
The New World vultures comprise seven species in five genera. The genera are ''[[Coragyps]]'', ''[[Cathartes]]'', ''[[Gymnogyps]]'', ''[[Sarcoramphus]]'', and ''[[Vultur]]''. Of these, only ''Cathartes'' is not [[monotypic]]. They were widespread in both the Old World and [[North America]], during the [[Neogene]].
 
The New World vultures comprise seven species in five genera. The genera are ''[[Coragyps]]'', ''[[Cathartes]]'', ''[[Gymnogyps]]'', ''[[Sarcoramphus]]'', and ''[[Vultur]]''. Of these, only ''Cathartes'' is not [[monotypic]]. They were widespread in both the Old World and [[North America]], during the [[Neogene]].
Line 55: Line 55:
 
New World vultures were traditionally placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes.<ref>Sibley and Ahlquist (1991)</ref>  However, in the late 20th century some ornithologists argued that they are more closely related to [[stork]]s on the basis of [[karyotype]],<ref>de Boer (1975)</ref> morphological,<ref>Ligon (1967)</ref> and behavioral<ref>König (1982)</ref> data.<!-- references to check: König (1982), Rea (1983), Sibley and Ahlquist (1990), Harshman (1994) —>  Thus some authorities place them in the [[Ciconiiformes]] with the storks and [[heron]]s; Sibley and Monroe (1990) even considered them a subfamily of the stork family. This has been criticized as an oversimplification,<ref>Griffiths (1994)</ref><ref>Fain & Houde (2004)</ref> and recently genetic evidence has been presented against it.<ref>Cracraft ''et al.'' (2004)</ref><ref>Gibb ''et al.'' (2007)</ref>  Consequently, there is a recent trend to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order '''Cathartiformes''' not closely associated with either birds of prey or storks or herons.<ref>Ericson ''et al.'' (2006)</ref>  In 2007 the [[American Ornithologists' Union]]'s North American checklist moved Cathartidae back into the lead position in [[Falconiformes]].<ref>American Ornithologists' Union (2007)</ref>  The AOU's draft South American checklist calls the Cathartidae ''incertae sedis'' (of uncertain position) rather than placing it any order.<ref>Remsen ''et al.'' (2007)</ref>
 
New World vultures were traditionally placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes.<ref>Sibley and Ahlquist (1991)</ref>  However, in the late 20th century some ornithologists argued that they are more closely related to [[stork]]s on the basis of [[karyotype]],<ref>de Boer (1975)</ref> morphological,<ref>Ligon (1967)</ref> and behavioral<ref>König (1982)</ref> data.<!-- references to check: König (1982), Rea (1983), Sibley and Ahlquist (1990), Harshman (1994) —>  Thus some authorities place them in the [[Ciconiiformes]] with the storks and [[heron]]s; Sibley and Monroe (1990) even considered them a subfamily of the stork family. This has been criticized as an oversimplification,<ref>Griffiths (1994)</ref><ref>Fain & Houde (2004)</ref> and recently genetic evidence has been presented against it.<ref>Cracraft ''et al.'' (2004)</ref><ref>Gibb ''et al.'' (2007)</ref>  Consequently, there is a recent trend to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order '''Cathartiformes''' not closely associated with either birds of prey or storks or herons.<ref>Ericson ''et al.'' (2006)</ref>  In 2007 the [[American Ornithologists' Union]]'s North American checklist moved Cathartidae back into the lead position in [[Falconiformes]].<ref>American Ornithologists' Union (2007)</ref>  The AOU's draft South American checklist calls the Cathartidae ''incertae sedis'' (of uncertain position) rather than placing it any order.<ref>Remsen ''et al.'' (2007)</ref>
 
The name Cathartidae comes from cathartes, Greek for "purifier".
 
The name Cathartidae comes from cathartes, Greek for "purifier".
−
 
  
 
==New World vultures and humans==
 
==New World vultures and humans==

Revision as of 01:00, 29 May 2008

New World vultures
American Black Vultures on a cow carcass
American Black Vultures on a cow carcass
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Cathartidae
Lafresnaye, 1839
Genera

Coragyps
Cathartes
Gymnogyps
Vultur
Sarcoramphus

New World vulture is the common designation for any of the large and very large birds comprising the family Cathartidae, characterized by a head with few or no feathers, keen sight, good soaring ability, a good sense of smell, highly social behavior, and generally by scavenging behavior, feeding primarily on carrion. Of the seven extant species found in the Americas, five include the name vulture as part of their common name, while the other two commonly are known as condors.

New World vultures belong to a different family than the superficially similar Old World vultures (family Accipitridae]], which share a similar featherless head, large size, good sight, scavenging behavior, and good soaring ability. However, they are not considered to be closely related genetically and generally are even placed in different orders, with New World vultures placed in Ciconiiformes with storks and Old World vultures in Falconiformes with eagles, buzzards, and hawks. Old World vultures lack the good sense of smell of New World vultures and find carcasses exclusively by sight.

Description

Cathartidae, the New World vultures, contains seven extant species found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. Excluding Cathartes, all genera are considered to be monotypic.

New World vultures are large to very large birds. The smallest species is the lesser yellow-headed vulture, Cathartes burrovianus, which weighs about 0.94 kilograms (2.1 pounds) (Wallace 2004) and has a length of about 56 to 61 centimeters (22 to 24 inches). Two other members of the Cathartes genus also are among the smaller members of this family, with the greater yellow-headed vulture (C. melambrotus) weighing about 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds), and the turkey vulture (C. aura) weighting about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) (Wallace 2004). The largest members of this family are the California and Andean condors, both of which can reach 120 centimeters (48 inches) in length and weigh 12 or more kilograms (26 or more pounds). Wallace (2004) reports that the Andean condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world, with females weighing from 8.3. to 10.5 kilograms (18 to 23 pounds) and males from 10.9 to 15 kilograms (24 to 33 pounds). While this bird is sexually dimorphic in size, as well as color and shape, the smaller vultures are sexually monomorphic in size and color (Wallace 2004). The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) also is sexually monomorphic in size and color, although it is quite large, with males and females reaching about 7.7 to 10.9 kilograms and with a wingspan of 2.9 meters (114 inches) (Wallace 2004).

All species have long, broad wings and a stiff tail, suitable for soaring (Reed 1914). They are the best adapted to soaring of all land birds (Ryser and Ryser 1985, p. 211). The feet are clawed but weak and not adapted to grasping (Krabbe 1990, p. 88). The front toes are long with small webs at their bases (Feduccia 1999). No New World vulture possesses a developed syrinx (Kemp and Newton 2003, p. 146), the vocal organ of birds, therefore the voice is limited to infrequent grunts, growls, and hisses (Howell and Webb 1995; Wallace 2004).

Plumage is predominantly black or brown, and is sometimes marked with white. All species have featherless heads and necks (Zim et al. 2001). In some, this skin is brightly colored, and in the king vulture it is developed into colorful wattles and outgrowths. In the sexually dimorphic Andean condor, the iris color of the female is a deep red, while it is tan in the male (Wallace 2004).

The beak of New World vultures is slightly hooked and is relatively weak when compared those of other birds of prey (Krabbe and Fjeldså 1990, p. 88). Its being weak relates to its being adapted to tear the weak flesh of partially rotted carrion, rather than fresh meat (Ryser and Ryser 1985, p. 211). The nostrils are oval and are set in a soft cere (Terres 1991, p. 957). The nasal passage is not divided by a septum (they are "perforate"), so from the side one can see through the beak (Allaby 1992), as in the turkey vulture. The eyes are prominent and, unlike those of eagles, hawks, and falcons, they are not shaded by a bony brow bone (Terres 1991). Members of Coragyps and Cathartes have a single incomplete row of eyelashes on the upper lid and two rows on the lower lid, while Gymnogyps, Vultur, and Sarcoramphus lack eyelashes altogether (Fisher 1942).

New World vultures have the unusual habit of urohydrosis, or emitting liquid waste on the bare portion of their legs where blood vessels are densely packed close to the skin and can be cooled by evaporation, reducing their core body temperature (Wallace 2004; Sibley and Ahlquist 1991). As this behavior is also present in storks, it is one of the arguments for a close relationship between the two groups (Sibley and Ahlquist 1991).

Distribution and habitat

Behavior and diet

The featherless head of the American Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus brasiliensis, reduces bacterial growth from eating carrion.

All living species of New World vultures and condors are scavengers. Though their diet is overwhelmingly composed of carrion, some species such as the American Black Vulture have been recorded as killing live prey. Other additions to the diet include fruit, eggs, and garbage. An unusual characteristic of the species in genus Cathartes is a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to find carrion. They locate carrion by detecting the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals. The olfactory lobe of the brains in these species, which is responsible for processing smells, is particularly large compared to that of other animals.[1] Other species such as the American Black Vulture and the King Vulture have weak senses of smell and find food only by sight, sometimes by following Cathartes vultures and other scavengers.[2] The head and neck of New World Vultures are featherless as an adaptation for hygiene; this lack of feathers prevents bacteria from the carrion it eats from ruining its feathers and exposes the skin to the sterilizing effects of the sun.[3]

Reproduction

New World vultures and condors do not build nests. Instead, they lay eggs on bare surfaces. One to three eggs are laid, depending on the species.[4] Chicks are naked at hatching and later grow down. The parents feed the young by regurgitation.[5] The young are altricial and fledge in 2 to 3 months.[6]

Taxonomy and evolution

The New World vultures have a pervious nostril

The New World vultures comprise seven species in five genera. The genera are Coragyps, Cathartes, Gymnogyps, Sarcoramphus, and Vultur. Of these, only Cathartes is not monotypic. They were widespread in both the Old World and North America, during the Neogene.

Although New World vultures have many resemblances to Old World vultures (traditionally considered part of the bird-of-prey order Falconiformes, though now often classified in a different order[citation needed]), they are not very closely related. Rather, they resemble Old World vultures because of convergent evolution.

New World vultures were traditionally placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes.[7] However, in the late 20th century some ornithologists argued that they are more closely related to storks on the basis of karyotype,[8] morphological,[9] and behavioral[10] data. Thus some authorities place them in the Ciconiiformes with the storks and herons; Sibley and Monroe (1990) even considered them a subfamily of the stork family. This has been criticized as an oversimplification,[11][12] and recently genetic evidence has been presented against it.[13][14] Consequently, there is a recent trend to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order Cathartiformes not closely associated with either birds of prey or storks or herons.[15] In 2007 the American Ornithologists' Union's North American checklist moved Cathartidae back into the lead position in Falconiformes.[16] The AOU's draft South American checklist calls the Cathartidae incertae sedis (of uncertain position) rather than placing it any order.[17] The name Cathartidae comes from cathartes, Greek for "purifier".

New World vultures and humans

In culture

The American Black Vulture and the King Vulture appear in a variety of Maya hieroglyphics in Mayan codices. The King Vulture is one of the most common species of birds represented in the Mayan codices.[18] Its glyph is easily distinguishable by the knob on the bird’s beak and by the concentric circles that represent the bird’s eyes.[18] It is sometimes portrayed as a god with a human body and a bird head.[18] According to Mayan mythology, this god often carried messages between humans and the other gods. It is also used to represent Cozcaquauhtli, the thirteenth day of the month in the Mayan calendar.[18] In Mayan codices, the American Black Vulture is normally connected with death or shown as a bird of prey, and its glyph is often depicted attacking humans. This species lacks the religious connections that the King Vulture has. While some of the glyphs clearly show the American Black Vulture’s open nostril and hooked beak, some are assumed to be this species because they are vulture-like and painted black, but lack the King Vulture’s knob.[18]

Threats and conservation

The California Condor is critically endangered.[19] In 1987, all surviving birds were removed from the wild into a captive breeding program to ensure the species' survival.[19] In 2005, there were 127 Californian Condors in the wild. The Andean Condor is near threatened.[20] The American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, and Greater Yellow-headed Vulture are listed as species of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. This means that populations appear to remain stable, and they have not reached the threshold of inclusion as a threatened species, which requires a decline of more than 30 percent in ten years or three generations.[21]

Species

  • American Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes burrovianus
  • Greater Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes melambrotus
  • California Condor Gymnogyps californianus
  • Andean Condor Vultur gryphus
  • King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa

Extinct species and fossils

A related extinct family were the Teratornithidae or Teratorns, essentially an exclusively (North) American counterpart to the New World vultures – the latter were, in prehistoric times, also present in Europe and possibly even evolved there. The Incredible Teratorn is sometimes called "Giant Condor" because it must have looked similar to the modern bird. They were, however, not very closely related but rather an example of parallel evolution, and the external similarity is less emphasized in recent times due to new information suggesting that the teratorns were more predatory than vultures.[22]

The fossil history of the Cathartidae is fairly extensive, but nonetheless confusing. Many taxa that may or may not have been New World vultures were considered to be early representatives of the family. There is no unequivocal European record from the Neogene and trying to retrace the evolutionary history of the entire Ciconiiformes sensu Sibley & Ahlquist by means of molecular analysis has proven to be just as equivocal until the mid-2000s.

At any rate, the Cathartidae had a much higher diversity in the Plio-/Pleistocene, rivalling the current diversity of Old World vultures and their relatives in shapes, sizes, and ecological niches. Extinct genera are:

  • Diatropornis (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene -? Middle Oligocene of France)
  • Phasmagyps (Early Oligocene of WC North America)
  • Brasilogyps (Late Oligocene - Early Miocene of Brazil)
  • Hadrogyps (Middle Miocene of SW North America)
  • Pliogyps (Late Miocene - Late Pliocene of S North America)
  • Perugyps (Pisco Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of SC Peru)
  • Dryornis (Early - Late? Pliocene of Argentina; may belong to modern genus Vultur)
  • Aizenogyps (Late Pliocene of SE North America)
  • Breagyps (Late Pleistocene of SW North America)
  • Geronogyps (Late Pleistocene of Peru)
  • Wingegyps (Late Pleistocene of Brazil)
  • Parasarcoramphus

Fossils found in Mongolia (Late Oligocene), Lee Creek Mine, USA (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene), Argentina (Middle Pliocene) and in more recent deposits on Cuba have not been assigned to a genus yet. There is also a number of extinct congeners of the extant species; see the respective genus accounts.

A European genus from the Earliest Neogene that possibly belongs to the New World vultures is Plesiocathartes. On the other hand, the bathornithid Neocathartes was long believed to be a peculiar New World vulture (including charming, but inaccurate reconstructions as a kind of Turkey Vulture on stilts).

Notes

  1. ↑ Snyder (2006):p 40
  2. ↑ Kemp and Newton (2003):p. 147
  3. ↑ Sarcoramphus papa. Who Zoo. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Zim:2001
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Terres:1991-p957
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Howell-and-Webb:1995
  7. ↑ Sibley and Ahlquist (1991)
  8. ↑ de Boer (1975)
  9. ↑ Ligon (1967)
  10. ↑ König (1982)
  11. ↑ Griffiths (1994)
  12. ↑ Fain & Houde (2004)
  13. ↑ Cracraft et al. (2004)
  14. ↑ Gibb et al. (2007)
  15. ↑ Ericson et al. (2006)
  16. ↑ American Ornithologists' Union (2007)
  17. ↑ Remsen et al. (2007)
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Tozzer (1910)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 BirdLife International (2006)
  20. ↑ BirdLife International (2004)
  21. ↑ BirdLife International (2001)
  22. ↑ Campbell & Tonni 1983

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Wallace, M. P. 2004. Cathartidae. In B. Grzimek, S. F. Craig, D. A. Thoney, N. Schlager, and M. Hutchins. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Detroit, MI: Thomson/Gale. ISBN 0787657786.


  • Check-list of North American Birds. American Ornithologists' Union (1998–2006). Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  • Allaby, Michael (1992). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Zoology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 348. ISBN 0192860933.
  • Avise, J. C.; Nelson, W. S. & Sibley, C. G. (1994) DNA sequence support for a close phylogenetic relationship between some storks and New World vultures. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91(11): 5173-5177. DOI:10.1073/pnas.91.11.5173 PDF fulltext. Erratum, PNAS 92(7); 3076 (1995). DOI:10.1073/pnas.92.7.3076b (PDF fulltext)
  • BirdLife International(2004). 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Downloaded 2007-11-09.
  • BirdLife International 2004. [1]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species., World Conservation Union. Retrieved on 23 September 2007.
  • BirdLife International 2006. [2]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species., World Conservation Union. Retrieved on 4 September 2006.
  • Campbell, Kenneth E. Jr. & Tonni, E. P. (1983): Size and locomotion in teratorns. Auk 100(2): 390-403 PDF fulltext
  • de Boer, L. E. M.(1975): Karyological heterogeneity in the Falconiformes (Aves). Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 31(10): 1138-1139. DOI:10.1007/BF02326755 (HTML abstract)
  • Cracraft, J., F. K. Barker, M. Braun, J. Harshman, G. J. Dyke, J. Feinstein, S. Stanley, A. Cibois, P. Schikler, P. Beresford, J. García-Moreno, M. D. Sorenson, T. Yuri, and D. P. Mindell. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships among modern birds (Neornithes): toward an avian tree of life. Pp. 468-489 in Assembling the tree of life (J. Cracraft and M. J. Donoghue, eds.). Oxford University Press, New York. Accessed 2007-04-10.
  • 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, in press. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523 PDF preprint Electronic Supplementary Material
  • Feduccia, J. Alan. 1999. The Origin and Evolution of Birds:300. Yale University Press ISBN 0226056414[3]
  • Fisher, Harvey I. (1942): The Pterylosis of the Andean Condor. Condor 44(1): 30-32. [4]
  • Gibb, G. C., O. Kardailsky, R. T. Kimball, E. L. Braun, and D. Penny. 2007. Mitochondrial genomes and avian phylogeny: complex characters and resolvability without explosive radiations. Molecular Biology Evolution 24: 269–­280. HTML abstract accessed 2007-04-10.
  • 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.
  • Kemp, Alan, and Ian Newton (2003): New World Vultures. In Christopher Perrins, ed., The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
  • Krabbe, Niels & Fjeldså, Jon. 1990: Birds of the High Andes. Apollo Press ISBN 8788757161
  • Ligon, J. D. (1967): Relationships of the cathartid vultures. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 651: 1-26.
  • Reed, Chester Albert 1914: The Bird Book: Illustrating in Natural Colors More Than Seven Hundred North American Birds. The University of Wisconsin.
  • 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, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 2007-04-05. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 2007-04-10.
  • Ryser Fred A. & A. Ryser, Fred Jr. 1985: Birds of the Great Basin: A Natural History. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 087417080X
  • Sibley, Charles G. and Burt L. Monroe. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of the Birds of the World. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04969-2. Accessed 2007-04-11.
  • Sibley, Charles G., and Jon E. Ahlquist. 1991. Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04085-7. Accessed 2007-04-11.
  • Snyder, Noel F. R. & Snyder, Helen (2006). Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation. Voyageur Press. ISBN 0760325820
  • Terres, J. K. & National Audubon Society (1991). The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. Reprint of 1980 edition. ISBN 0517032880
  • Tozzer, Alfred Marston & Allen, Glover Morrill (1910). Animal Figures in the Maya Codices. Harvard University. [5]
  • Wink, M. (1995): Phylogeny of Old and New World vultures (Aves: Accipitridae and Cathartidae) inferred from nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 50(11-12): 868-882.
  • Zim, Herbert Spencer; Robbins, Chandler S.; Bruun, Bertel (2001): Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Publishing. ISBN 1582380902

External links

Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=New_World_vulture&oldid=721635

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki