Wildlife
The condors, the turkey vulture and the black vulture are amongst the members of this family. All the species live in the Americas.
Scientific name: Cathartidae
Rank: Family
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in five genera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas.
New World vultures are not closely genetically related to the superficially similar family of Old World vultures; similarities between the two groups are due to convergent evolution. Just how closely related they are is a matter of debate (see Taxonomy and nomenclature). The "New World" vultures were widespread in both the Old World and North America during the Neogene.
Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. New World vultures have a good sense of smell, but Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head, devoid of feathers.
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