 Bird:
Andean Condor
(Vulture gryphus)
Range:
The Andes, 1500 - 5200 m, of western and southern South
America from Colombia and western Venezuela south through
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to Tierra
del Fuego. Ranges regularly to the lowlands of eastern
Bolivia and southwestern Brazil, and to the Patagonian
lowlands of southern Argentina. Formerly widespread,
now local and much reduced in numbers. Found in open
areas and mountainous regions; and found breeding on
rocky cliffs. The species is listed as endangered, primarily
due to habitat destruction, lead poisoning from contaminated
carcasses, and shooting. It has been extirpated in some
areas and the total population is probably only several
hundred.
Size:
This is the largest of the vultures and one of the largest
flying birds in the world.
Length:
Wingspan: Male 160 - 170 cm ; Female 158 - 160 cm ;
(approximately 10 ft.)
Weight: Male approximately 25 - 30 lbs. ; Female 17
- 22 lbs.
Diet:
Mainly carrion; also moribound or newborn animals and
sea bird eggs. Carcasses washed up on shore are extremely
important to the survival of coastal populations, while
carcasses of domestic stock are important for populations
at higher altitudes.
Description:
The adult's head and neck are bare. The lower neck is
encircled by a ruff of fluffy white down; except in
the front where the bare skin of the neck extends down
to the crop. The body is generally glossy black. The
upperwing coverts, secondaries and inner primaries are
ashy white, except at the base and on the inner vane,
forming large white areas on the wing from above. The
head has a large, fleshy, comb-like caruncle or wattle
that rests on top of it and the beak; and the skin of
the sides of the head and throat form large, loose folds,
especially on the throat. The chest has a pendent wattle
about 2 in. long. The bare skin and wattles are red
or blackish red. The eyes are greyish brown in the male
and garnet red in the female. The bill is ivory with
a well defined black area at the base and the feet are
black. The female is smaller than the male and lacks
the comb or wattles. The immature is a duller black
and the shoulders are paler; but not white. Adult plumage
is attained at six years of age.
Natural History:
These birds are seen soaring singly, in pairs, or, ocassionally,
in large groups of up to 60 individuals at a carcass
or seabird rookerie. Condors locate food by sight and
have a hierarchy at a carcass based on age and sex.
They have no syrinx and are, therefore, silent except
for low hisses made by forcing air through air sacs
in the chest and neck. They roost and nest in the mountains.
The nests are built on an exposed ledge and the reddish
grey skin of the male's neck and head becomes bright
yellow during courtship displays. During displays, the
male will spread his wings, raise his neck, which becomes
filled with air, and slowly turn in circles. He then
emits a snorting sigh, releasing air from his air sacs.
One white egg is laid on an edge or in a cave and both
parents incubate for 54 - 58 days. Young are ready for
flight at 6 months of age but are cared for well into
their second year. The combined period of laying, incubation,
and parental care lasts over a year. The adults, therefore,
nest every second year or more; unless the egg or chick
is lost or removed. Captive pairs will lay annually.
Sexual maturity is often attained at eight years of
age. Condors have been documented in captivity living
at least 75 years. Survival rates for Andean Condors
are among the highest estimated for any wild bird population
from 75% in the first year to 94% in adult birds.
Personal History:
Sadie and Matilda - Acquired by NEI in 1992 at under
a year old.
Buckwheat - Acquired by NEI in 1996 at 20 years old.
Back
Bird: Black Vulture
(Coragyps atratus)
Range:
The warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere from Washington,
D.C., southern Ohio, and southern Arizona to central
South America. Absent from higher mountains and more
desolate steppes and deserts. Considered non-migratory,
but flocks have been seen apparently migrating south
through Panama in November. Vast numbers occur around
towns and cities in tropical and sub-tropical America.
They occur away from settlements, but less so than other
American vultures. Black Vultures inhabit both wooded
and semi-open country, wherever food is available.
Size:
Males and Females are the same size
Length: 22-27 in; Wingspan: 90 - 120
cm; Weight: 4-5 lbs
Diet:
Mainly carrion, but will kill some young or defenseless
animals including sea birds, herons, and baby sea turtles
emerging from the sand. May also take newly born piglets
and calves, often snipping off the tails of the small
animals. Also eats eggs and, at times, ripe and rotten
fruits and vegetables.
Description:
The adult's head and neck are bare and black, sometimes
with a purplish sheen. The body, tail, and wings are
black, sometimes with a slight iridescence on the wings
and tail. The primaries are grayish above, whitish below;
thus the spread wing from below has a conspicuous white
patch. The eyes and feet are dark brown. The bill is
dark brown or blackish with a pale tip. The bare skin
of the neck has heavy creases. Immatures are similar
to adults but are duller. The neck skin is not corrugated
and the naked skin of the neck is covered with bristly
feathers. Additionally, the bill is entirely dusky.
Natural History:
The Black vulture probably has a larger population than
any other bird of prey in the Western Hemisphere. Black
vultures are somewhat social and will feed, soar, and
roost in flocks of varying size. Sometimes, they will
roost with Turkey vultures. They are often seen perching
with wings spread to dry or to catch the sun. Up to
thousands may occupy a roost. When cornered or annoyed,
adults and young will give a rasping, hissing snarl.
Adults will also utter a croaking 'coo' like a pigeon.
These sounds, however, are only audible at close range.
Also, if disturbed or annoyed, adults and young will
disgorge food which will later be re-eaten. The flight
at low altitudes or in calm air is heavy and labored
and is a series of short, powerful but awkward wing
beats, followed by a blundering glide. Given good air
or sufficient altitude, they soar well and spend much
time doing so. Descending to feed from great heights,
they dive with tremendous velocity. The sound as one
after another pulls out of a stoop is said to resemble
the ripping of heavy paper. Feeding on carrion and excrement
of all sorts, 200 - 300 may gather at the carcass of
a large animal, and 30 - 40 at one time may fight and
struggle for food while the others sit on the ground,
circle above, or perch nearby. While feeding, they brace
themselves with their tail, which then becomes worn
and acquires a chopped-off appearance. Because Black
vultures have been known to take young livestock, and
because they are thought to transport various diseases,
they have been trapped and destroyed by the thousands
in some areas. Black vultures have a habit of defecating
on their own legs as a means of cooling by evaporation.
Where nesting socially, large numbers have been observed
soaring; where upon pairs will break off from the flock
to perform courtship dives and chases. Black vultures
tend to be in pairs even in flocks. Males will strut
before their mates on the ground with spread wings and
mating has been observed on the ground. Nests are frequently
made in the hollow bases of trees or stumps, rarely
at an elevation of more than 10 - 15 ft. above the ground.
Eggs may also be laid in holes under rocks, in narrow
gullies, low cliffs, or on the ground under dense or
thorny vigetation. Numbers of vultures may nest in close
proximity, but probably only because of the limitation
of suitable places. Two eggs are laid and their color
is highly variable, but usually with a base color of
pale grey-green and with a few large splotches or spots
mainly near the large end of the egg and mostly in browns
or chocolates. Normally, one of the eggs is more heavily
marked than the other. Both parents incubate, brood,
and feed the young. Incubation lasts for 32 - 39 days
and parents will relay once if the clutch is lost. During
incubation, parents may move the eggs 2 - 3 m; for example
from within a cave to its entrance. Usually, young will
not leave the nest until at least 10 weeks of age. Both
parents feed the young a primarily liquid, regurgitated
material up to 17 times a day at first and then, as
the young age, only once or twice a day.
Personal History:
Webster - Acquired by NEI in 1999 at under a year old.
Back
 Bird:
Hooded Vulture
(Necrosyrtes monachus)
Range:
Occurs throughout tropical Africa south of the Sahara
Desert from Senegal to northern Somalia and south to
Natal. Found in any habitat from the hottest deserts
to the tall rainforest; from sea level to 4000 m. Much
less common south of the equator.
Size:
Length: 65-75 cm; Wingspan: Male 94 - 97 cm ; Female
95 - 99 cm; Weight:
Diet:
A scavanger which primarily feeds on carrion of any
kind including some small bones and skin. Will also
eat large insect larvae, locusts, and termites when
available.
Description:
Adults are dark chocolate brown with blackish wing and
tail feathers. The crop patch and thighs are white and
white feather bases show through on the underside. The
head and neck are mostly pinkish and covered with a
thin grey down. The bare pink facial skin flushes red
when excited. The eyes are brown. Adult males and females
are very similar with females being slightly larger.
Immature birds are similar to adults except that the
down on the head is a dark brown rather than grey. The
bare skin on the face is a paler pink and more white
is noticeable on the crop and thighs.
Natural History:
These birds are virtually silent, but will utter a
squealing cry if they are excited while on the nest.
They are common as a town scavanger all over west and
northeast Africa and are found by the hundreds in any
sizeable town within that range. However, in southern
Africa, they are generally solitary and are wholly
dependent on natural food rather than human waste.
They normally roost in the same tree nightly, often
roosting together in groups in one tree. Most of the
day is spent foraging and fighting often occurs when
groups collect around available food. Unable to compete
with larger vultures at a carcass, the Hooded Vulture
will often remain after the competitors have left and
begin feeding on the scraps and stripping meat from
small openings with its narrow beak. Hooded Vultures
nest in the tallest trees available. Sometimes they
will build their nest on the foundation of another
species nest. Both sexes build the nest, one pair may
have several nests, and the same nests may be used
repeatedly for several years. Pairs bond for life and
perform a mating display before breeding. The pairs
will circle, wing tip to wing tip, high in the air.
Mating occurs several times daily in trees, on the
nest itself, on buildings, or on the ground. During
mating, the pink facial skin turns bright red or purplish.
Pairs may occupy the nest site for several weeks or
months before laying. Usually, one egg is layed. Both
sexes incubate, however, the female always incubates
at night. The male will regurgitate for the female
while she is on the nest. Upon hatching, the downy
young require close attention. They are largely feathered
at 40 days and fledging often occurs at 95 - 120 days.
After fledging, the young will return to the nest to
roost for up to 30 days.
Personal History:
Grimm - Acquired by NEI in 1999 at under a year old.
Back
 Bird:
King Vulture
(Sarcorhamphus papa)
Sarcorhamphus is Latin and refers to a bishop. The black
and white plumage is like a bishop or pope.
papa may refer to the bird's large impressive size.
Range:
The Neotropical region from Sinaloa, Puebla and Veracruz
south to Panama. And from Colombia, Venezuela and Guianas
south and west of the Andes to northwestern Peru and
east of the Andes through eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru,
Brazil and Bolivia to Paraguay, Uruguay and northern
Argentina. Found in tropical forest and savanna habitats;
in lowlands to 1500 m.
Size:
Length: 28 - 30 in.; Wingspan: 4 - 6.5 ft.; Weight:
3200 - 4500 g ; (6.75 - 8.25 lb.)
Diet:
Usually carrion, but will take reptiles and newly dropped
calves.
Description:
Immature birds are almost all black. They mature in
5 years. The adult is mostly white, with striking colors
on the head (reds, oranges, yellows, and purples). The
flesh over the beak, called a wattle or caruncle, is
also brightly colored. They are not sexually dimorphic.
They are the most colorful vulture.
Natural History:
They seldom occur in groups except when on a carcass.
They are the first type of vulture to feed on a carcass,
the other species usually wait due to the King Vulture
having the strongest beak in the area, hence the name
"King" Vulture. Their roosts are high in
the tops of trees and they are believed to have a good
sense of smell. They have been observed nesting in
rotted out stumps and scrub by palm trees. They breed
in pairs, not in communities. They have not been well
studied in the wild. The King Vulture was the first
legally protected animal in the world.
The Mayans believed King Vultures were gods associated
with fertility and were also the written symbol for
the 13th day of the month.
Personal History:
B.B. - Acquired by NEI in 1999 from the Houston Zoological
Gardens at 2 years old.
Kato - Acquired from Disney's Discovery Island in 1999
at 2 years old.
Back
 Bird:
Lappet-faced Vulture
(Torgos tracheliotus)
Range:
A fairly common resident, they are found throughout
the more arid parts of Africa from the northwest Sahara
east to the northeast Sudan and south to Cape Province
and the Namib Desert. They may be seen in Arabia and
are known to breed in Isreal. Normally, they are found
in plains habitats, preferring subdeserts, but they
are also found in east African-Ethiopian Highlands,
sometimes up to 4000 m. They are the commonest large
vulture in subdesert southwest Africa. They are decreasing
in Namibia, probably also in northwest Africa to northern
Sudan, but they are probably stable in east and central
Africa. At present, they are not threatened, except
in Namibia.
Size: Length: 115 cm; Wingspan: 258
- 266 cm; Weight: approx 15 lbs (6.8kg)
Diet:
Chiefly carrion and mainly flesh. They can also eat
sinews, bones, and skin not eaten by griffons. They
may kill small weak animals, probably by impact at strike.
They have a powerful grip and often raid flamingo colonies,
killing both adults and young and eating their eggs.
They also eat locusts and flying termites.
Description:
A huge, massive- billed vulture, adults have a crimson
head and neck and streaked underparts with white 'pants'
which contrast with the dark body and underwings in
flight. The adult's head and neck are naked, pink, and
with large fleshy ear-like lappets on the sides of the
face. They have a ruff of short brown feathers and the
crop patch is dark brown. The body above is dark brown.
Below, the upperbreast has short brown feathers surrounded
by white down. The feathers of the lower breast and
abdomen are long, lanceolate, brown, edged whitish,
and more or less obscure the white body down. The thighs
are unfeathered and covered with white down. The tail
and wing feathers are uniform dark brown to black. The
eye is brown, the cere is whitish, the legs are bluish
grey, and the bill is greenish brown and tipped yellowish.
Males are slightly smaller than females. Immature vultures
have dark 'pants' and various amounts of white mottling
on the mantle. They resemble adults, but the neck skin
is paler, brownish, and with some white down on the
head. The thighs are brownish. In flight, their long
broad wings have a blackish appearance and the wedge-shaped
tail and white downy thighs are distinctive. The long
feathers of the ruff can be raised to frame the head.
Natural History:
Very well known, these vultures inhabit semi-arid,
semi-desert scrub, deserts, and thornbush and are often
the commonest large vulture. They are normally solitary
or, at most, in small groups. In some subdesert areas,
they may be the commonest large vulture and are, therefore,
more gregarious, up to 40 - 50 occurring together.
They fly using thermal currents in flat country and
updraughts in mountainious areas. At carcasses, they
form a species pair with White-headed Vultures but
the Lappet-faced is much more powerful and aggressive.
They usually arrive later than other vultures, but
are sometimes the first to break into the carcass with
heavy sideways blows of their powerful bill. When feeding
with other vultures, they normally remain on the outskirts
of the carcass and attack others, stealing flesh from
them. They can dominate all other vulture species,
but are themselves often robbed by Jackals. When threatening
others, they will run forward with their head lowered,
neck outstreatched, back feathers erected, wings partly
spread, and tail often cocked vertically. The attacked
bird usually retreats or abandons its prey, but a struggle
may ensue when one Lappet-faced Vulture attacks another.
Feeding alone, the powerful head and bill allow them
to eat tough sinews, dry skin, and small bones not
utilized by griffons. When feeding, they hold the carcass
down with their feet and tear off large pieces of muscle
and skin with great force. They are often seen sunning
after feeding. They roost in trees in open plains and
a pair will often roost close together on the same
or adjacent trees. Roosting sights may be reused for
several nights. Their nests are solitary and normally
dispersed in individual territories. Where abundant,
the nests may be close together, possibly several nests
in one tree. Their is no obvious breeding display other
than pairs often soaring wingtip to wingtip. Nests
are normally made in tree tops 3 - 15 m above the ground
and completely open to the sun. Nests are occassionally
made on the lateral brance of a large tree growing
on a steep slope. Thorny tree species are preferred,
but they will also nest in broad-leaved trees. The
nest is a huge, flattish structure up to 3 m accross
and 1 m thick, with a broad shallow central depression.
It is lined with dry grass and, later, carpeted with
hair and skin from carcasses. Pairs normally have 1
- 3 nests and may use them alternately. They will reuse
stable nests annually or will build new ones. Both
sexes help build the nest and one or both birds will
usually roost in or beside the nest, or in the nest
tree, sometimes year round. Usually, one broad, oval,
dull white, spotted and blotched with brown egg is
layed and both parents will incubate for
approximately 53 days. Young can fly weakly at 115
days and normally at 125 - 135 days. After their first
flight, the young usually remain near the nest for
1 - 2 months. They may remain dependent on their parents
for up to 6 months after their first flight. Although
newly fledged young cannot effectively compete with
adults at carcasses, they can successfully compete
with griffons, White-backed, or smaller vultures. Not
all Lappet-faced Vulture pairs breed annually, and
young disperse from breeding areas at random.
Personal History:
Lyle - Acquired from the Baltimore Zoo in 1999 at 7
months old.
 Bird:
Ruppell's Griffon Vulture
(Gyps rueppellii)
Range:
Africa; south of the Sahara from Senegal east to Somalia
and south to North Tanzania. Found in open plains,
arid steppe, desert, and mountainous habitats and
found breeding on cliffs.
Size:
Length: 34 - 36 in.; Wingspan: 7 - 8 ft.; Weight: 6000
g (~ 13 lbs.)
Diet:
Feeds on carrion.
Description:
They have yellow eyes and a dark reddish bill. The
head and neck are dirty gey and covered with thin
whitish down. The wing and tail feathers are blackish-brown.
The back feathers are dark with white edges, which
produces a scaley appearance. They have a long neck
that enables them to have deeper penetration of carrion.
Natural History:
They are sociable and roost, feed, and breed in numbers
together. They roost nightly on cliffs. They frequently
spend much time soaring around the hills on updrafts
or thermals. This species has the highest credible
altitude record for any bird; one having been killed
by a jet aircraft at 37,000 ft. They usually follow
other birds to find a carcass, like the White-backed
Vulture, hyenas, and lions. They locate food by sight,
not smell. They breed in large colonies of up to 1000
pairs on cliffs. They build nests on cliff ledges.
Usually, 1 egg is laid and it will be incubated by
both sexes.
Personal History:
Garen - Has performed in shows for many years and is
a solid performer. He was acquired by NEI in 1993
at approximately 5 years old.
Leon - Captive bred and parent raised in 1998 at the
Pheonix Zoo. He was acquired by NEI in 1998.
Bird: Yellow-headed
Vulture
Range: No content
Size: No content
Diet: No content
Description: No content
Natural History: No content
Personal History: No content
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