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.
Region
Neotropics
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern and southern Mexico through much of Central America and into northern and central South America, including the Llanos, Pantanal, and other seasonally flooded savannas. Favors open lowland habitats such as marshes, swamps, mangroves, wet grasslands, and cattle pastures with scattered trees. It avoids dense interior rainforest but uses edges, river corridors, and cleared lands. Common near wetlands that experience seasonal flooding and drawdowns, where stranded fish and small carcasses are frequent.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This New World vulture specializes in detecting carrion by smell, using a keen sense of olfaction to locate food hidden in grass or wetlands. It often arrives first at carcasses in open savannas and marshes, but yields to larger vultures once they appear. Lacking a syrinx, it can only produce hisses and grunts. It plays an important ecological role by rapidly removing carcasses and limiting disease spread.
C. b. burrovianus, Colombia
Lesser yellow-headed vulture at the Natura Artis Magistra
In the Pantanal, Brazil
Temperament
solitary and wary
Flight Pattern
soaring glider with wings held in a shallow dihedral; occasional short, rapid flaps and gentle rocking in wind
Social Behavior
Typically forages alone or in small numbers but may gather at abundant food sources and roost communally. Monogamous pairs nest in secluded spots on the ground, in dense vegetation, or in hollow stumps without constructing a true nest. Clutch is usually one to two eggs, and both adults share incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Lacks a true song; vocalizations are limited to low grunts, snorts, and hisses at close range, especially around carrion or the nest. Generally silent while soaring.
Plumage
Mostly black to sooty-black with a slight brownish sheen; long tail and two-toned underwings showing dark coverts and paler, silvery flight feathers. A pale nape ruff contrasts with the bare, brightly colored head and neck.
Diet
Primarily scavenges carrion of small to medium vertebrates, including roadkill, drowned or stranded fish, and carcasses in wetlands and pastures. Often the first vulture to find fresh carcasses by scent, especially when remains are concealed by vegetation. Occasionally takes invertebrates or probes soft substrates for organic matter.
Preferred Environment
Feeds over open wetlands, seasonally flooded savannas, agricultural fields, and coastal marshes. Commonly quarters low over grass or circles on thermals to sample scent plumes, then drops to the ground to investigate.
