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| The naked heads of Cathartes vultures are widely believed to be
adaptations for temperature regulation and to reduce plumage fouling during
carrion feeding. Bright head color and the elaborate pattern of caruncles on
the head and neck skin have a likely function in intra- and interspecific
signaling. These integumentary characters have been difficult to study because
of extensive postmortem color fading and shrinkage in museum specimens.
Here I provide the first detailed description of head color and caruncles of the
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture (C. melambrotus) from freshly collected
specimens and provide comparative notes on sympatric populations of the
Turkey Vulture (C. aura) and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (C. burrovianus)
from Guyana. | |
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