King Vulture

The King Vulture is the most distinctive vulture of the New World. Unlike the other dark or black-plumaged vultures in the Americas, the King Vulture is mainly creamy-white and has a strikingly ornate and colorful neck and head. Young king vultures have black plumage and dark heads and go through several age-related plumages before attaining the typical adult one. King Vultures feed exclusively on carrion. Unlike the smaller Greater Yellow-headed and Turkey Vultures that inhabit the same regions, the King Vulture has a poorly developed sense of smell. The King Vulture relies on smaller vultures to find carrion. In turn, smaller vultures rely on the big and powerful King Vulture to rip open the skin of large animals and create access to parts of the carcass smaller vulture would not be able to access otherwise.

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