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Coragyps atratus

(Bechstein, 1793)

Black Vulture

G5Secure Found in 27 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104530
Element CodeABNKA01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCathartiformes
FamilyCathartidae
GenusCoragyps
Other Common Names
black vulture (EN) Urubu noir (FR) Urubu-Preto (PT) Zopilote Común, Zamuro Negro, Jote Cabeza Negra (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Transferred to Ciconiiformes (AOU 1998) but is now tentatively returned to the order Falconiformes after re-evaluation of the reasons for the earlier change. Further, some genetic studies (Cracraft et al. 2004, Fain and Houde 2004, Ericson et al. 2006) have shown that the New World vultures are not closely related to the storks, although their precise phylogenetic relationship to the Falconiformes is yet undetermined (AOU 2007).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-07
Change Date1996-11-22
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: southern Arizona, Chihuahua, Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Missouri, southern Indiana, central Ohio, south-central Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey south to Gulf Coast and southern Florida, and throughout Middle America and South America. Has been extending range northward in the eastern U.S. since the 1950s. NORTHERN WINTER: in the U.S., winters mainly in the south-central and southeastern states, with the highest densities in parts of Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, and to a lesser degree in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida (Root 1988). WANDERS north to southern Canada.
Threat Impact Comments
According to Ehrlich et al. (1992), jeopardized by widespread eggshell thinning resulting from the ingestion of contaminated food.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

A medium-large bird with blackish plumage, a small grayish unfeathered head, hooked bill, weak talons, short tail, and relatively short, broad wings; in flight, wings show a large white patch at the base of the primaries; average length 64 cm, wingspan 145 cm (NGS 1983).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from the turkey vulture in having conspicuous white patches at the base of the primaries, black (vs. silvery gray) secondaries, a shorter tail, and never a red head. Differs from eagles in smaller head that lacks feathers, smaller overall size, shorter tail, and white areas in plumage confined to base of primaries.

Habitat

Nearly ubiquitous except in heavily forested regions; more common in lowland than in highland habitats. More abundant toward the coast in eastern North America. Most abundant around human habitation in much of Central and South American range (Palmer 1988).

In Pennsylvania, selected large conifers for mid-winter roost (Wright et al. 1986).

Eggs are laid usually in a thicket or on a cliff ledge, also in cave or other situations (e.g., on bare ground at bottom of stump, in hollow log or tree, among rocks, etc.) (Jackson 1983); also sometimes in high buildings (Lima, Peru) (Palmer 1988). In Maryland/Pennsylvania, nested in areas that were roadless, forested, and undeveloped (Coleman and Fraser 1989).

Ecology

Forms large communal roosts at night throughout year; immediate family members maintain close contact throughout the year (Rabenold 1986). Average distance between communal roost and feeding site was 6 km in Maryland/Pennsylvania (Coleman and Fraser 1987). Mean summer home range in Maryland/Pennsylvania 15,962 hectares (n=11), 7729 hectares (n=6) in winter, 14,881 hectares (n=5) year-round (Coleman and Fraser 1989).

Human disturbance and canid predation may be significant causes of nest failure in the eastern U.S. (Coleman and Fraser 1989).

Reproduction

Clutch size usually is 2. Incubation lasts 37-41 days, by both sexes. Young first fly at about 75-80 days, are tended by parents for several months after fledging. May lay replacement clutch 3-4 weeks after first clutch is destroyed. Long-term pair-bond.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousDesertSand/duneBare rock/talus/screeCliffCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
VermontSNRBYes
ArkansasS4Yes
New YorkS3BYes
New JerseyS5B,S5NYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
District of ColumbiaS1Yes
DelawareS3BYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
West VirginiaS4B,S4NYes
MarylandS4B,S4NYes
ArizonaS1B,S3NYes
MassachusettsS1B,S2NYes
FloridaS4Yes
MississippiS4BYes
LouisianaS5Yes
AlabamaS4BYes
OklahomaS2BYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
TennesseeS4BYes
PennsylvaniaS4BYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
IndianaS3Yes
OhioS2Yes
TexasS5BYes
IllinoisS3Yes
KentuckyS4B,S3NYes
MissouriS4Yes
Roadless Areas (27)
Alabama (2)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainTalladega National Forest4,986
Cheaha ATalladega National Forest236
Arizona (3)
AreaForestAcres
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear MountainOuachita National Forest1,910
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
North Carolina (5)
AreaForestAcres
Laurel MountainPisgah National Forest5,683
Linville Gorge AdditionPisgah National Forest2,809
Lost CovePisgah National Forest5,944
South Mills RiverPisgah National Forest8,588
Wilson CreekPisgah National Forest4,863
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainCherokee National Forest11,743
Texas (2)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Virginia (8)
AreaForestAcres
Broad RunJefferson National Forest10,971
Brush MountainJefferson National Forest6,002
Mountain Lake Addition AJefferson National Forest1,469
North MountainJefferson National Forest8,377
Oak KnobGeorge Washington National Forest10,882
Peters Mountain Addition A (VA)Jefferson National Forest1,268
Seng MountainJefferson National Forest6,428
Southern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest11,985
West Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
Peters Mountain Addition A (WV)Jefferson National Forest343
References (32)
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  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Bent, A.C. 1937. Life histories of North American birds of prey. Part 1. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 137. 409 pp.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
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  6. Coleman, J. S., and J. D. Fraser. 1987. Food habits of black and turkey vultures in Pennsylvania and Maryland. J. Wildl. Manage. 51:733-739.
  7. Coleman, J. S., and J. D. Fraser. 1989. Habitat use and home ranges of black and turkey vultures. Journal of Wildlife Management 53:782-792.
  8. Cracraft, J., F. K. Barker, M. Braun, J. Harshman, G. J. Dyke, J. Feinstein, S. Stanley, A. Cibois, P. Schikler, P. Beresford, and others. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships among modern birds (Neornithes): Toward an avian tree of life. Pages 468-489 in Assembling the Tree of Life (J. Cracraft and M. J. Donoghue, Eds.). Oxford University Press, United Kingdom.
  9. Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1992. Birds in Jeopardy: the Imperiled and Extinct Birds of the United States and Canada, Including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 259 pp.
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  29. Wilbur, S. R. 1983. The status of vultures in the western hemisphere. Pages 113-123 in Wilbur, S. R., and J. A. Jackson, eds. Vulture biology and management. Univ. California Press, Berkeley.
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  32. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.