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

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

On the mantel were a tail feather from a black vulture, a bracket fungus, and an owl carved from jetsam whalebone that someone had sent to help him see in the dark.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 10, 2017

This conspicuous protuberance has been seized upon as a characteristic in the conventionalized figures, and serves to identify the king from the black vulture.

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