black vulture

American  

noun

1. Also called carrion crow.  an American vulture, Coragyps atratus, having a black, bald head and black plumage.

2. any of several Old World vultures, especially Aegypius monachus, of southern Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

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Etymology

Origin of black vulture

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black vulture

I finally looked up the species: It was a gallinazo, also known as a black vulture, and as much as we might ignore them, they’d been circling the whole time.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

Only when I stooped to read the label for one velvety red blossom — it was a cockscomb, Celosia “Dracula” — did I notice the knee-high, cast-foam black vulture that was sitting watchfully beside it.

From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

Nearby, another mural by Matarrita, this time painted on a security screen, celebrates an unpopular bird: the black vulture.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 7, 2022

Examples of protected species include northern cardinals, the red-tailed hawk, and the American black vulture.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

In the eastern façade of the Monjas at Chichen Itza there are glyphs for both the king and the black vulture and the peccary.

From Animal Figures in the Maya Codices by Tozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston)