{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "black-vulture",
  "name": "Black Vulture",
  "scientificName": "Coragyps atratus",
  "category": "Bird",
  "summary": "The black vulture (Coragyps atratus) is a large, black scavenger of the Americas with a bare, wrinkled grey head and white patches near the wingtips. It finds food by sight and often follows turkey vultures to carcasses, then crowds them out in groups. It ranges from the south-eastern United States to South America. BirdLife estimates 50 to 100 million mature birds and lists it as Least Concern.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Identification",
      "body": "Black vultures are black with a short, square tail and a bare, wrinkled grey-black head. In flight, white patches at the base of the outer flight feathers make the wingtips look pale. They flap quickly between short glides, unlike the rocking soar of turkey vultures."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Sight, not smell",
      "body": "Black vultures find food by sight and by watching other scavengers. They often follow turkey vultures, which can smell carrion, and then use their numbers to push them off the carcass."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Social roosts",
      "body": "Black vultures roost and feed in groups, often of related birds, and share information about food. They nest on the ground in caves, hollow logs or abandoned buildings, laying their eggs without a nest."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Status",
      "body": "BirdLife International lists the black vulture as Least Concern (2025), estimating 50 to 100 million mature birds. In North America its range has been spreading north. The oldest banded bird reported by Animal Diversity Web was 25 years old."
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "What is the difference between a black vulture and a turkey vulture?",
      "answer": "Black vultures have a grey-black head, a short tail and white wingtip patches; turkey vultures have a red head (in adults), a longer tail and silvery flight feathers along the whole wing."
    },
    {
      "question": "Can black vultures smell?",
      "answer": "Their sense of smell is weak. They find food mainly by sight and by following turkey vultures."
    },
    {
      "question": "Where do black vultures live?",
      "answer": "From the south-eastern and south-central United States through Mexico and Central America to South America."
    },
    {
      "question": "Are black vultures dangerous?",
      "answer": "Not to people. They mainly eat carrion, although they occasionally attack newborn livestock."
    }
  ],
  "sourceUpdate": null,
  "evidence": [],
  "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Chordata",
    "class": "Aves",
    "order": "Accipitriformes",
    "family": "Cathartidae",
    "genus": "Coragyps"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 1.9,
    "lengthM": 0.69,
    "topSpeedKmh": 0,
    "lifespanYears": 0
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Coragyps atratus"
    },
    {
      "label": "Other name",
      "value": "American black vulture"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Carrion; occasionally newborn or weak animals"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Open country, forest edges, farmland and towns"
    },
    {
      "label": "Size",
      "value": "50–69 cm long; wingspan 137–152 cm"
    },
    {
      "label": "Weight",
      "value": "2–2.7 kg"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2025)"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "South-eastern and south-central United States through Mexico and Central America to central Chile and Argentina.",
    "continents": [
      "North America",
      "South America"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: American Black Vulture Coragyps atratus. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/american-black-vulture-coragyps-atratus"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Animal Diversity Web: Coragyps atratus. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.",
      "url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Coragyps_atratus/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898",
      "url": null
    },
    {
      "citation": "Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.",
      "url": "https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/black-vulture/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/black-vulture/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}