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65-517: The Cathartiformes / k ə ˈ θ ɑːr t ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / was a former order of scavenging birds which included the New World vultures and the now-extinct Teratornithidae . Unlike many Old World vultures , this group of birds lack talons and musculature in their feet suitable to seize prey. In the past, they were considered to be a sister group to the storks of the order Ciconiiformes based on DNA–DNA hybridization and morphology. However,

130-456: A cohors (plural cohortes ). Some of the plant families still retain the names of Linnaean "natural orders" or even the names of pre-Linnaean natural groups recognized by Linnaeus as orders in his natural classification (e.g. Palmae or Labiatae ). Such names are known as descriptive family names. In the field of zoology , the Linnaean orders were used more consistently. That is,

195-562: A 2021 analysis of mitochondrial genes suggested a stronger phylogenetic relationship between Cathartiformes and the families of Accipitriformes , and they are now normally included within the Accipitriformes as the family Cathartidae . Cathartiformes, also known as New World vultures, possess unique adaptations in their plumulaceous feathers that prevent the accumulation of bacteria and fungal spores, allowing them to feed on carrion without getting sick. These feather adaptations include

260-604: A calf will allow vultures to approach it. The vultures swarm the calf in a group and then peck at the calf's eyes, nose, or tongue. The calf then goes into shock and is killed by the vultures. Black vultures have sometimes been observed removing and eating ticks from resting capybaras and Baird's tapir ( Tapirus bairdii ). These vultures are known to kill baby herons and seabirds on nesting colonies, and feed on domestic ducks , small birds, skunks , opossums , other small mammals, lizards , small snakes , young turtles and insects . Like other birds with scavenging habits,

325-505: A capital letter. For some groups of organisms, their orders may follow consistent naming schemes . Orders of plants , fungi , and algae use the suffix -ales (e.g. Dictyotales ). Orders of birds and fishes use the Latin suffix -iformes meaning 'having the form of' (e.g. Passeriformes ), but orders of mammals and invertebrates are not so consistent (e.g. Artiodactyla , Actiniaria , Primates ). For some clades covered by

390-561: A carcass measuring approximately 3 feet (0.9 m) in length from a distance of 4 miles (6.4 km), even at altitudes of up to 3 kilometres (9,800 ft). Their hearing is similarly acute, with a range of around 5,000 Hz and a threshold of 20 dB. When searching for food, vultures do not pursue healthy animals; instead, they target dead or nearly dead creatures. Their diet primarily consists of reptiles, mammals, birds, and fish, although they have been known to consume human remains as well. There are four different types of bird under

455-481: 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 not closely related to the Eurasian black vulture , an Old World vulture , of

520-651: A contraction of the Greek corax /κόραξ and gyps /γὺψ for the respective birds. The American Ornithologists' Union used the name Catharista atrata initially before adopting Vieillot's name ( Catharista urubu ) in their third edition. By their fourth edition, they had adopted the current name. The black vulture is basal (the earliest offshoot) to a lineage that gave rise to the turkey vulture and greater and lesser yellow-headed vultures, diverging around 12 million years ago. Martin Lichtenstein described C. a. foetens ,

585-566: A distinct rank of biological classification having its own distinctive name (and not just called a higher genus ( genus summum )) was first introduced by the German botanist Augustus Quirinus Rivinus in his classification of plants that appeared in a series of treatises in the 1690s. Carl Linnaeus was the first to apply it consistently to the division of all three kingdoms of nature (then minerals , plants , and animals ) in his Systema Naturae (1735, 1st. Ed.). For plants, Linnaeus' orders in

650-467: A keen sense of smell. Lacking a syrinx —the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It lays its eggs in caves, in cliffside rock crevasses, dead and hollow trees, or, in the absence of predators, on the bare ground, generally raising two chicks each year. The parents feed their young by regurgitation from their crop , an additional digestive organ unique to birds, used for storing excess food; their “infant formula”, of sorts,

715-457: A lack of aftershaft, a flattened shape, and a porous structure that allows air to flow through, preventing the retention of moisture and bacteria. Their feathers lack the interlocking hooks found in other bird feathers, making them more flexible and allowing for a greater degree of movement. This flexibility may aid in their ability to maintain body temperature while soaring at high altitudes and navigating through turbulent air currents. Additionally,

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780-533: A livestock water tank. The black vulture is a scavenger and feeds on carrion , but will also eat eggs , small reptiles, or small newborn animals (livestock such as cattle , or deer, rodents, rabbits, etc.), albeit very rarely. They will also opportunistically prey on extremely weakened, sick, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable animals. In areas populated by humans, it also scavenges at dumpster sites and garbage dumps. It finds its meals by using its keen eyesight or following other (New World) vultures, which all possess

845-549: A red head. There are three other subspecies of turkey vulture located throughout North and Central America. Their length can be 62–72 cm, wingspan 160–181 cm, and weight 1.6-2.4 kg. Behavior includes locating food by smell and sight. They usually eat carrion, but can sometimes catch fish and attack living creatures. Lesser yellow-headed vultures or Cathartes burrovianus, are large yet slender black vultures. They typically have two-toned wings as well, yet there can be some yellow coloring on their heads. Wingtips go beyond

910-517: A threat to the safety of aerial traffic, especially when it congregates in large numbers in the vicinity of garbage dumps —as is the case in the Rio de Janeiro Tom Jobim International Airport . The black vulture can be held in captivity, though the Migratory Bird Treaty Act only allows this in the case of animals which are injured or unable to return to the wild. The black vulture appears in

975-455: A variety of Maya hieroglyphics in Mayan codices . It is normally connected with either death or as a bird of prey. The vulture's glyph is often shown attacking humans. This species lacks the religious connections that the king vulture has. While some of the glyphs clearly show the black vulture's open nostril and hooked beak, some are assumed to be this species because they are vulture-like but lack

1040-409: A wingspan of 141–160 cm and weight of between 1.7 and 2.3 kg. Their behaviors include feeding off large carcasses by following other scavengers to the source of food. Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura (Greek katartes, “purifier”, aura , from Latin aurum, “gold”), can be described as large brownish-black vultures with two-toned colors on the underside of their wings. Grown adults will have

1105-400: Is gregarious and roosts in large groups. In areas where their ranges overlap, the black vulture will roost on the bare branches of dead trees alongside groups of turkey vultures . The black vulture generally forages in groups; a flock of black vultures can easily drive a rival turkey vulture, which is generally solitary while foraging, from a carcass. Like the turkey vulture, this vulture

1170-486: Is a reference to its feeding habits. The species name, ātrātus , means "clothed in black", from the Latin āter 'dull black'. Vieillot defined the genus Catharista in 1816, listing as its type C. urubu . French naturalist Emmanuel Le Maout placed in its current genus Coragyps (as C. urubu ) in 1853. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire has been listed as the author in the past, but he did not publish any official description. The genus name means "raven-vulture", from

1235-419: Is determined by a taxonomist , as is whether a particular order should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing an order. Some taxa are accepted almost universally, while others are recognized only rarely. The name of an order is usually written with

1300-620: Is found as a vagrant on the islands of the Caribbean . It prefers open land interspersed with areas of woods or brush. It is also found in moist lowland forests, shrublands and grasslands, wetlands and swamps, pastures, and heavily degraded former forests. Preferring lowlands, it is rarely seen in mountainous areas. It is usually seen soaring or perched on fence posts or dead trees. The black vulture soars high while searching for food, holding its wings horizontally when gliding. It flaps in short bursts, followed by short periods of gliding. Its flight

1365-444: Is less efficient than that of other vultures, as the wings are not as long, forming a smaller wing area. In comparison with the turkey vulture , the black vulture flaps its wings more frequently during flight. It is known to regurgitate when approached or disturbed, which assists in predator deterrence and taking flight by decreasing its takeoff weight. Like all New World vultures, the black vulture often defecates on its legs, using

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1430-760: Is often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria. This same behavior is displayed by other New World vultures , Old World vultures , and storks . The timing of black vultures' breeding season varies with the latitude at which they live. In the United States, birds in Florida begin breeding as early as January, while those in Ohio generally do not start before March. In South America, Argentinian and Chilean birds begin egg-laying as early as September, while those further north on

1495-410: Is relatively unlikely, though eggs and nestlings are readily eaten if found by mammalian predators such as raccoons , coatis and foxes . Due to its aggressiveness and size, few predators can threaten the fully-grown vulture. However, various eagles may kill vultures in conflicts, and even the ornate hawk-eagle , a slightly smaller bird than the vulture, has preyed on adult black vultures, as well as

1560-743: Is the largest land bird found in North America. They are black with white patches under the wings, and a narrow white patch on the upper side of the wings. Their tails are short and square like. They reside within the Baja California mountains and northern Arizona/southern Utah, and they feed entirely on carrion—especially larger mammalian carcasses. Unlike turkey vultures, California condors are thought to rely on their sharp eyesight rather than smell to find food, and they often spot carcasses from afar by noticing other scavengers gathered below. Order (biology) What does and does not belong to each order

1625-423: Is thus called “ crop milk ”. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 . This vulture also appeared in Mayan codices . The American naturalist William Bartram wrote of the black vulture in his 1791 book Bartram's Travels , calling it Vultur atratus "black vulture" or "carrion crow". Bartram's work has been rejected for nomenclatoríal purposes by

1690-448: Is variably blotched or spotted with lavender or pale brown around the larger end. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after 28 to 41 days. Upon hatching, the young are covered with a buffy down, unlike turkey vulture chicks which are white. Both parents feed the nestlings, regurgitating food at the nest site. The young remain in the nest for two months, and after 75 to 80 days, they can fly skillfully. Predation of black vultures

1755-520: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , several additional classifications are sometimes used, although not all of these are officially recognized. In their 1997 classification of mammals , McKenna and Bell used two extra levels between superorder and order: grandorder and mirorder . Michael Novacek (1986) inserted them at the same position. Michael Benton (2005) inserted them between superorder and magnorder instead. This position

1820-530: The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature as the author did not consistently use the system of binomial nomenclature . The German ornithologist Johann Matthäus Bechstein formally described the species using the same name in 1793 in his translation of John Latham's A General Synopsis of Birds . The common name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus , which means "tearer" and

1885-769: The Systema Naturae and the Species Plantarum were strictly artificial, introduced to subdivide the artificial classes into more comprehensible smaller groups. When the word ordo was first consistently used for natural units of plants, in 19th-century works such as the Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and the Genera Plantarum of Bentham & Hooker, it indicated taxa that are now given

1950-403: The ecosystem by disposing of carrion which would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease. The black vulture locates food either by sight or by following New World vultures of the genus Cathartes to carcasses. These vultures—the turkey vulture , the lesser yellow-headed vulture , and the greater yellow-headed vulture —forage by detecting the scent of ethyl mercaptan , a gas produced by

2015-469: The last ice age . However, a 2022 genetic study found C. occidentalis to be nested within the South American clade of black vultures; C. occidentalis had evolved from the modern black vulture about 400,000 years ago and developed a larger and more robust body size when it colonized high-altitude environments. C. occidentalis may have interacted with humans; a subfossil bone of the extinct species

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2080-545: The mid-Atlantic States , the southernmost regions of the Midwestern United States , the southern United States , Mexico, Central America, and most of South America. It is usually a permanent resident throughout its range, although birds at the extreme north of its range may migrate short distances and others across their range may undergo local movements in unfavourable conditions. In South America, its range stretches to Peru , central Chile and Uruguay. It also

2145-473: The Andean black vulture, in 1817, and Charles Lucien Bonaparte described C. a. brasiliensis , from Central and South America, in 1850 on the basis of smaller size and minor plumage differences. However, it has been established that the change between the three subspecies is clinal (that is, there is no division between the subspecies), and hence they are no longer recognised. "Black vulture" has been designated

2210-582: The Californian condor, which are the largest birds in North America . They are black with white patches under their wings and a narrow white patch on the upper side of the wings. They also have very short and square like tails. These vultures reside with in Baja California's mountains. The condor waits until late hours of the night or early mornings to hunt their prey. They also use thermal to hunt as well. These vultures can consume an entire large carcass. Within

2275-666: The Cathartiformes category. There are black vultures that have a large, jet-black body. They live within open habitats but along the edges of forests . They weigh around 1.2 to 2.3 kg. They feed off large carcasses but also hunt for living prey. Next are the turkey vultures. They are large brown-black birds with two-tone colors underneath their wings. Grown vultures have a red head. These vultures are located around North and Central America . These vultures weigh about 1.6 to 2.4 kg and locate their prey by smell or sight but also hunt dead and living animals. Continuing on, we have

2340-474: The Mexican birds as C. occidentalis mexicanus as opposed to the birds from locations farther north (such as Rancho La Brea ), which constituted the nominate subspecies C. o. occidentalis . The southern birds were of the same size as present-day northern black vultures and can only be distinguished by their somewhat stouter tarsometatarsus and the flatter and wider bills, and even then only with any certainty if

2405-493: The Pleistocene black vulture or—somewhat in error—the "western black vulture", occurred across the present species' range. This bird did not differ much from the black vulture of today except in size; it was some 10–15% larger and had a relatively flatter and wider bill. It filled a similar ecological niche as the living form but fed on larger animals, and was previously thought to have evolved into it by decreasing in size during

2470-720: The Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada, and by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals in Mexico. In the United States it is illegal to take, kill, or possess black vultures without a permit and violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to US$ 15,000 and imprisonment of up to six months. It is listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List . Populations appear to remain stable, and it has not reached

2535-523: The beginnings of decay in dead animals. Their heightened ability to detect odors allows them to search for carrion below the forest canopy. The black vulture is aggressive when feeding and may chase the slightly larger turkey vulture from carcasses. The black vulture also occasionally feeds on livestock or deer . It is the only species of New World vulture which preys on cattle . It occasionally harasses cows giving birth, but primarily preys on newborn calves, lambs, and piglets. In its first few weeks,

2600-418: The black vulture is an imposing bird, though relatively small for a vulture, let alone a raptor. It has black plumage , a featherless, grayish-black head and neck, and a short, hooked beak. These features are all evolutionary adaptations to life as a scavenger ; their black plumage stays visibly cleaner than that of a lighter-colored bird, the bare head is designed for easily digging inside animal carcasses, and

2665-406: The black vulture presents resistance to pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins. Many mechanisms may explain this resistance. Anti-microbial agents may be secreted by the liver or gastric epithelium, or produced by microorganisms of the normal microbiota of the species. It receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in the United States, by the Convention for

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2730-625: The carcasses have been dead for a while. Vultures primarily feed on dead animals, known as carrion . Most New World vultures are obligate scavengers , meaning they feed exclusively on animals that are already deceased. Their presence plays an important role in the ecosystem by facilitating the efficient removal of carcasses. When young, vultures of the order Cathartiformes rely on their parents for food. However, adult Cathartiformes do not have feet adapted for carrying food, so they feed their chicks by regurgitating meat and bone fragments. Vultures possess highly developed eyesight, capable of detecting

2795-692: The continent typically wait until October. Some in South America breed even later than that—black vultures in Trinidad typically do not start until November, for example, and those in Ecuador may wait until February. Pairs are formed following a courtship ritual which is performed on the ground: several males circle a female with their wings partially open as they strut and bob their heads. They sometimes perform courtship flights, diving or chasing each other over their chosen nest site. The black vulture lays its eggs on

2860-493: The edge of the folded wings. A leucistic C. atratus brasiliensis was observed in Piñas , Ecuador in 2005. It had white plumage overall, with only the tarsus and tail and some black undertail feathers. It was not an albino as its skin seemed to have a normal, dark color, and it was part of a flock of some twenty normally plumaged individuals. The black vulture has a Nearctic and Neotropic distribution. Its range includes

2925-443: The evaporation of the water in the feces and/or urine to cool itself, a process known as urohidrosis . It cools the blood vessels in the unfeathered tarsi and feet, and causes white uric acid to streak the legs. Because it lacks a syrinx , the black vulture, like other New World vultures, has very few vocalization capabilities. It is generally silent, but can make hisses and grunts when agitated or while feeding. The black vulture

2990-455: The family Accipitridae (which includes raptors like the eagles , hawks , kites , and harriers ). For ease of locating animal corpses (their primary source of sustenance), 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 . With a wingspan of 1.5 m (4.9 ft),

3055-546: The ground in a wooded area, a hollow log, or some other cavity, seldom more than 3 m (10 ft) above the ground. While it generally does not use any nesting materials, it may decorate the area around the nest with bits of brightly colored plastic, shards of glass, or metal items such as bottle caps. Clutch size is generally two eggs, though this can vary from one to three. The egg is oval and, on average, measures 7.56 cm × 5.09 cm (2.98 in × 2.00 in). The smooth, gray-green, bluish, or white shell

3120-405: The hooked beak is built for stripping the bodies clean of meat. The absence of head feathers helps the birds stay clean and remain (more or less) free of animal blood and bodily fluids, which could become problematic for the vultures and attract parasites; most vultures are known to bathe after eating, provided there is a water source. This water source can be natural or man-made, such as a stream or

3185-470: The lesser yellow-headed vultures that are large yet slender black vultures. These vultures have some yellow coloring on their head and their wingspan goes beyond the length of their tails. They are commonly found in wetlands on the Caribbean slope of Mexico and Nicaragua and are found within marshes, savannahs, and mangroves . They fly lower to the ground and perch on trees to find their prey. Lastly, we have

3250-498: The location where the fossils were found is known. As the Pleistocene and current black vultures form an evolutionary continuum rather than splitting into two or more lineages, some include the Pleistocene taxa in C. atratus , which is further affirmed by phylogenetic studies indicating that it forms a clade within the South American C. atratus . An additional fossil species from the Late Pleistocene of Cuba, C. seductus ,

3315-411: The new world vultures, there is a subset of seven main species. This includes the black vulture , turkey vulture, lesser yellow-headed vulture, greater yellow-headed vulture, Californian condor, Andean condor, and the king condor. The black vulture ( Coragyps atratus ) has a large, jet-black body, short black tail, white primary patches, and whitish legs. The length of their bodies is 59–74 cm, with

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3380-735: The official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). "American black vulture" is also commonly used, and in 2007 the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society unsuccessfully proposed it to be the official name of the species. From the Early to the Late Pleistocene , a prehistoric species of black vulture, C. occidentalis , known as

3445-698: The orders in the zoology part of the Systema Naturae refer to natural groups. Some of his ordinal names are still in use, e.g. Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and Diptera (flies, mosquitoes, midges, and gnats). In virology , the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 's virus classification includes fifteen taxomomic ranks to be applied for viruses , viroids and satellite nucleic acids : realm , subrealm , kingdom , subkingdom, phylum , subphylum , class, subclass, order, suborder, family, subfamily , genus, subgenus , and species. There are currently fourteen viral orders, each ending in

3510-547: The precursor of the currently used International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants . In the first international Rules of botanical nomenclature from the International Botanical Congress of 1905, the word family ( familia ) was assigned to the rank indicated by the French famille , while order ( ordo ) was reserved for a higher rank, for what in the 19th century had often been named

3575-440: The presence of feather pulp and melanin pigment in these feathers may contribute to their durability and resistance to wear and tear. These feather characteristics are distinct to Cathartiformes and likely play an important role in their unique ecological niche as scavengers. Additionally, New World vultures have a highly acidic digestive system that allows them to break down and destroy harmful pathogens in their food, especially if

3640-494: The rank of family (see ordo naturalis , ' natural order '). In French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille (plural: familles ) was used as a French equivalent for this Latin ordo . This equivalence was explicitly stated in the Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle 's Lois de la nomenclature botanique (1868),

3705-406: The shortish tail measures 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) and the relatively long tarsus measures 7–8.5 cm (2.8–3.3 in). Its plumage is mainly glossy black. The head and neck are featherless, and the skin is dark gray and wrinkled. The iris of the eye is brown and has a single incomplete row of eyelashes on the upper lid and two rows on the lower lid. The legs are grayish-white, while

3770-516: The suffix -virales . Black vulture Vultur atratus Bechstein, 1793 The black vulture ( Coragyps atratus ), 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

3835-415: The threshold of inclusion as a threatened species, which requires a decline of more than 30% in ten years or three generations. The black vulture is considered a threat by cattle ranchers due to its predation on newborn cattle. The droppings produced by black vultures can harm or kill trees and other vegetation. As a defense, the vultures also “regurgitate a reeking and corrosive vomit." The bird can be

3900-405: The tip of their tail. Length of 53–65 cm, wingspan 150–165 cm, and weight 0.9-1.6 kg. Common in wetlands of the Caribbean slope of Mexico to Nicaragua, they live within marshes, savannahs and mangroves. They tend to fly lower within open wetland looking for carrion through sight and smell and spend lots of time perched on lower ground. The Californian condor or Gymnogyps californianus

3965-449: The two eagles native to North America (north of Mexico). The black vulture eats mainly carrion in natural settings. In areas populated by humans, it may scavenge at garbage dumps for refuse, offal, and other discarded edible waste, but also takes eggs, fruit (both ripe and rotting), fish, dung and ripe/decomposing plant material and can kill or injure newborn or incapacitated mammals. Like other vultures, it plays an important role in

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4030-420: The two front toes of the foot are long and have small webs at their bases. The nostrils are not divided by a septum , but rather are perforate; one can see through the beak from the side. The wings are broad but relatively short. The bases of the primary feathers are white, producing a white patch on the underside of the wing's edge, which is visible in flight. The tail is short and square, barely reaching past

4095-418: Was adopted by Systema Naturae 2000 and others. In botany , the ranks of subclass and suborder are secondary ranks pre-defined as respectively above and below the rank of order. Any number of further ranks can be used as long as they are clearly defined. The superorder rank is commonly used, with the ending -anae that was initiated by Armen Takhtajan 's publications from 1966 onwards. The order as

4160-755: Was described in 2020. The black vulture is a fairly large scavenger , measuring 56–74 cm (22–29 in) in length, with a 1.33–1.67 m (52–66 in) wingspan. Weight for black vultures from North America and the Andes ranges from 1.6 to 3 kg (3.5 to 6.6 lb) but in the smaller vultures of the tropical lowlands it is 1.18–1.94 kg (2.6–4.3 lb). 50 vultures in Texas were found to average 2.15 kg (4.7 lb) while 119 birds in Venezuela were found to average 1.64 kg (3.6 lb). The extended wing bone measures 38.6–45 cm (15.2–17.7 in),

4225-420: Was found in a Paleo-Indian to Early Archaic (9000–8000 years BCE ) midden at Five Mile Rapids near The Dalles, Oregon . Fossil (or subfossil) black vultures cannot necessarily be attributed to the Pleistocene or the recent species without further information: the same size variation found in the living bird was also present in its larger prehistoric relative. Thus, in 1968, Hildegarde Howard separated

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