Cathartidae, known commonly as New World vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. They are known as "New World" vultures to distinguish them from Old World vultures, with which the Cathartidae does not form a single clade despite the two being similar in appearance and behavior as a result of convergent evolution.
The turkey vulture is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.
The black vulture, also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to Perú, Central Chile and Uruguay in South America. Although a common and widespread species, it has a somewhat more restricted distribution than its compatriot, the turkey vulture, which breeds well into Canada and all the way south to Tierra del Fuego. It is the only extant member of the genus Coragyps, which is in the family Cathartidae. Despite the similar name and appearance, this species is unrelated to the Eurasian black vulture, an Old World vulture, of the family Accipitridae. For ease of locating animal corpses, black vultures tend to inhabit relatively open areas with scattered trees, such as chaparral, in addition to subtropical forested areas and parts of the Brazilian pantanal.
The Accipitriformes are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not falcons.
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.
Gyps is a genus of Old World vultures that was proposed by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. Its members are sometimes known as griffon vultures. Gyps vultures have a slim head, a long slender neck with downy feathers, and a ruff around the neck formed by long buoyant feathers. The crown of their big beaks is a little compressed, and their big dark nostrils are set transverse to the beak. They have six or seven wing feathers, of which the first is the shortest and the fourth the longest.
James Lee Peters was an American ornithologist.
The pauraque – also called the common pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, one of two birds in the genus Nyctidromus. It breeds in the subtropical and tropical regions of the New World, and except for northernmost birds it is largely resident all year round.
The black-crested antshrike is a passerine bird in the antbird family. It is a resident breeder in tropical South America in Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, northern Brazil and northeastern Peru. It is unclear whether the species also occurs south of the Amazon in Brazil.
The striated caracara or Forster's caracara is a Near Threatened bird of prey of the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. In the Falklands it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin.
The rufous crab hawk or rufous crab-hawk, is a Near Threatened species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found on Trinidad and along the South American coastline from eastern Venezuela to southern Brazil.
The chattering kingfisher is a species of bird in the kingfisher family Alcedinidae. The species is found in the Cook Islands and the Society Islands in French Polynesia.
The lesser yellow-headed vulture also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in Mexico, Central America, and South America in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. It is a large bird, with a wingspan of 150–165 cm (59–65 in). The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, are pale orange with red or blue areas. It lacks a syrinx, so therefore its vocalizations are limited to grunts or low hisses.
The greater yellow-headed vulture, also known as the forest vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the lesser yellow-headed vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in South America in tropical moist lowland forests. It is a fairly large bird, with a wingspan of 166–178 cm (65–70 in), a weight of 1.65 kilograms (3.6 lb) and a body length of 64–75 cm (25–30 in). The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, range in color from deep yellow to pale orange. It lacks a syrinx, and its vocalizations are therefore limited to grunts or low hisses.
The yellow-breasted crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found on several Caribbean islands and in most of Central America and South America.
The spectacled tyrant is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Hymenops.
The yellow-spotted barbet is a bird species in the monotypic genus Buccanodon. It belongs to the African barbet family (Lybiidae) which was formerly included in the Capitonidae and sometimes in the Ramphastidae.
Gymnogyps varonai, sometimes called the Cuban condor, is an extinct species of large New World vulture in the family Cathartidae. G. varonai is related to the living California condor, G. californianus and the extinct G. kofordi, either one of which it may have evolved from. The species is solely known from fossils found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene tar seep deposits in Cuba. G. varonai may have preyed upon carcasses from large mammals such as ground sloths.
Phasmagyps, is an extinct genus of New World vulture in the family Cathartidae, known from one Oligocene fossil found in Colorado. The genus contains a single described species, Phasmagyps patritus which is possibly the oldest New World vulture known, though its placement in the family Cathartidae has been questioned.
Emslie's vulture is an extinct species of vulture in the family Cathartidae. It is only known from a series of fossils found in western Cuba. The fossils were primarily found in caves or Quaternary asphalt deposits. It is significantly smaller than the extant C. aura. It likely became extinct during the Holocene following the extinction of Cuban Pleistocene megafauna whose bodies it would have fed on, coupled with the loss of the open savannas it would have inhabited.
