Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture
Cathartes burrovianus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyCathartidae (New World Vultures)
- GenusCathartes (Turkey and Yellow-headed Vultures)
- SpeciesCathartes burrovianus (Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture)
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. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park, based on 5 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Serra da Canastra National Park
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
King Vulture
Sarcoramphus papa
White-tailed Hawk
Buteo albicaudatus
Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostris
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle
Geranoaetus melanoleucus
Savanna Hawk
Buteogallus meridionalis
Great Black-Hawk
Buteogallus urubitinga
Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Short-tailed Hawk
Buteo brachyurus
Chaco Eagle
Harpyhaliaetus coronatus
White-tailed Kite
Elanus leucurus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture in Serra da Canastra National Park?
About 1% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park, based on 5 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture in Serra da Canastra National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture in Serra da Canastra National Park in our monthly data.