NL·0326Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Sarcoramphus papa
- Family
- Cathartidae
- Native to
- Southern Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina
- Habitat
- Tropical lowland rainforest, Savanna, Forest edge
On eBird ↗
King Vulture
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
King vulture
Sarcoramphus papa
Also calledZopilote rey (Spanish) · Urubu-rei (Portuguese) · Cozcacuauhtli (Nahuatl)
A creamy-white vulture with a bare head painted orange, purple, red and yellow. Other vultures usually find carcasses first, but the king vulture's powerful bill opens tough hides that smaller species cannot.
The king vulture is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is the only surviving member of the genus Sarcoramphus, although fossil members are known. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iTears open large carcasses, giving other scavengers access
- iiFollows smell-guided Turkey and Yellow-headed Vultures to food hidden under forest canopy
- iiiSoars for long periods on flat wings over rainforest
In the field
Field marks
- aCreamy-white body with black flight feathers and tail
- bBare, multicoloured head and neck with an orange fleshy caruncle on the bill
- cThick grey ruff
- dWhite eye with red eye-ring; juveniles all dark
- Voice
- Generally silent; low croaks and bill-snaps.
- Not to be confused with
- Wood Stork has long legs and a long neck in flight. Immature king vultures are dark and resemble Black Vultures but are larger with some colour on the head.
- Where to see it
- Over rainforest in Belize, Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula), Panama and the Amazon; at feeding stations in Brazil and Costa Rica.
- When
- Resident year-round
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Carrion; occasionally weak or newborn animals
- Habitat
- Lowland forest and adjacent savanna, mainly below 1,500 m
- Size
- 67–81 cm; wingspan 1.2–2 m; 2.7–4.5 kg
- Lifespan
- Over 30 years in captivity
At carcasses it usually displaces Black and Turkey Vultures.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Southern Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Woodcuts and engravings matched from the Source Library’s scanned books by name. Plates marked “relative” show a close kin rather than this exact species. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Sarcoramphus papa in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
The Maya depicted the king vulture in their codices, and its Nahuatl name cozcacuauhtli also named the 16th day of the Aztec calendar.
Curiosity
Spanish 'zopilote rey' reflects an old belief that it was the king the other vultures stood back for.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 4763.