Cathartes burrovianus
Silhouette: Jan Sevcik (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The lesser yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes burrovianus), also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in Mexico, Central America, and South America in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. It is a large bird, with a wingspan of 150–165 cm (59–65 in). The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, are pale orange with red or blue areas. It lacks a syrinx, so therefore its vocalizations are limited to grunts or low hisses.
The lesser yellow-headed vulture feeds on carrion and locates carcasses by sight and by smell, an ability which is rare in birds. It is dependent on larger vultures, such as the king vulture, to open the hides of larger animal carcasses as its bill is not strong enough to do this. Like other New World vultures, the lesser yellow-headed vulture utilizes thermals to stay aloft with minimal effort. It lays its eggs on flat surfaces, such as the floors of caves, or in the hollows of stumps. It feeds its young by regurgitation... Wikipedia →
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Brazil · 2022
© Luiz C. Silva · XC717346 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 5 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 6 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | African Lion Safari | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Reptile Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 226th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 60%), Emas National Park (Brazil, about 40%) and Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (29 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
