The American Black Vulture is common from the southern USA, through Central America and throughout most of South America except the extreme south and parts of the Andes.

Strongly associated with human activity, it is found around cities, towns and other habitations where it feeds on refuse. Elsewhere it is found along rivers and in open country but it is not normally found in undisturbed forest.

In flight, it soars on flat wings with the "fingers" usually spread out. There are white patches on the underside of the wings. Unlike other vultures in South America, it flaps frequently when flying.

The bare head is an adaptation to its life as a scavenger and it will feed off any size of animal carcass as well as dead fish, etc..

Apart from carrion, American Black Vultures also feed on eggs, young birds, fish and insects.

This 4th photo shows a bird with much more feathering on the neck than normal. I assume that it is a juvenile though I must say I haven't noticed this phenomenon before. It reminded me of a photo sent to me a couple of years ago by Roberto Chavarro of an American Black Vulture he had seen in Colombia with an extraordinary amount of feathering which I show below.