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

Parkinson photographed a black vulture perched over a dead yacaré caiman in Brazil's Pantanal wetlands, keeping his boat at a distance and using a long telephoto lens to capture the shot.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 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

The black vulture flies rather heavily—flapping his wings several times with a quick repetition, and then holding them horizontally for a hundred yards or so—while his short ill-proportioned tail is spread out like a fan.

From The Boy Hunters by Unknown