NEW WORLD VULTURES   -   CATHARTIDAE

Black Vulture Coragyps atratus Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. A bit of a gruesome shot, feasting on a dead caiman. Fortunately this is a natural setting. Most Black Vultures now seem to be found in urban settings where unnatural concentrations gather at landfills, polluted rivers, or even just piles of garbage collecting around poor slums.

Andean Condor Vultur gryphus Above Papallacta Lake, Napo province, Ecuador. A magnificent bird, usually thought of as the largest bird in the world capable of flight. It can weight over 12 kg with a 3 m wingspan. In northern South America it has become increasingly rare, and was even extirpated from Venezuela. Farther south, especially in the uninhabitable mountains of Chile and Argentina, it is still fairly common. This individual flew in and landed on this ledge at about 3pm, and probably was going to roost there over night.

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