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King Vulture — printable fact sheet
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King Vulture
Sarcoramphus papa
Sarcoramphus papa is the most flamboyant of the New World vultures - a white body, black flight feathers, and a bare head of orange, purple, yellow and red topped by a fleshy orange caruncle over the bill - and its ecological position depends on a division of labour. The king vu…
Did you know?
- Despite their size and powerful appearance, King Vultures are completely silent, lacking a syrinx and only able to make low croaking or hissing sounds.
- Because king vultures cannot smell carrion well, they are effectively parasitic on the noses of turkey vultures - and simultaneously indispensable to them, since a thick-skinned carcass stays sealed until a king arrives. The caruncle above the bill is present only in adults and its function is not fully understood. Like other New World vultures they urohidrate, defecating on their own legs to cool by evaporation, and the uric acid also kills bacteria picked up from standing in a carcass.
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