Black Vulture, Cathartes atratus brasiliensis

Black Vulture, Cathartes atratus brasiliensis. Birds photographed in Parque National Huatulco, Huatulco, Oaxaca, March 2021. Photographs and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

The Black Vulture, Cathartes atratus brasiliensis, is one of three subspecies of Black Vulture, and one of two subspecies found in Mexico. They are a member of the Cathartidae Family of New World Vultures, which has seven-nine members placed in five genera, and one of three global species of the Cathartes Genus. They are known in Mexico as zopilote negro.

The Black Vulture is medium-large in stature. The sexes are similar in appearance. They are entirely black in color except their six outer primaries are whitish with blackish tips on the undersides. Their head is unfeathered, gray and highly wrinkled and their tail is very short and squarish. Their bill is black with a bright ivory tip and a long, hooked beaks, their iris is dark brown, and their claws, legs and feet are blackish brown.

The Black Vulture is found in open and semi-open habitats including clearings, farms, mangroves, pastures, savannas, and towns normally at elevations below 3,000 m (9,800 feet). They are known for their large communal roots and their presence along roadways where they gather to feed on roadkill. They feed almost exclusively on carrion. They lack a keen sense of smell and rely on the Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, to locate food where they will descend in large groups to feed on carcasses. The females lay eggs on bare ground in a cave, hollow tree, or an abandoned building. The Black Vulture has been poorly studied and very little has been documented about their biology and behavioral patterns.

The Black Vulture is very similar to two other Mexican Cathares vultures: the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Cathares burrovianus and the Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura. They differ by having a short tail, a less rounded wrinkled gray head with a longer and straighter bill.

In Mexico the Black Vulture is found throughout the country with the exception that they are absent from Baja California, Baja California Sur, and the extreme northwest section of Sonora.

From a conservation perspective the Black Vulture is currently considered to be of Least Concern with expanding, widely distributed populations. They are very tolerant of human developments and have become pests in many regions. They are a known threat to aircraft, personal property, and livestock depredation attacking weak and newborn livestock. They play an important ecological role reducing the spread of diseases to humans and livestock by removing food from the environment that normally would be preyed upon by feral dogs and rats.