Black Vulture

How to find it

Look for them soaring over towns and open country, or gathered at carcasses and rubbish dumps. Rural areas are especially good, because food is more plentiful there. Early on cool mornings, look for flocks perched in roost trees or on structures, often with wings spread to catch the sun. Scan any kettle of vultures carefully, since a King Vulture may be among them. A guided tour in the Deep South found the species common and widespread, so you do not need a special effort to find it.

How to recognise it

Adults are all black except for a white patch under the wing at the base of the primary feathers. The head is bare, wrinkled and blackish, and the legs are whitish.

In flight the tail looks short and square and the wings are broad. White wingtip patches look like spread fingers.

Compared with the Turkey Vulture, the Black Vulture has a bigger head, longer neck, more upright stance and sturdier build. Great Black-Hawks and other Buteogallus hawks have tail bands and a yellow cere and legs, which Black Vultures do not.

What it sounds like

Recording: Lyndsey, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Black Vultures feed mainly on carrion. They find food by sight, not smell, and often follow Turkey Vultures to carcasses and then chase them off. They are aggressive, social and opportunistic, and groups crowd and jostle around large carcasses and at rubbish dumps.

Communal roosts can hold hundreds of birds. Some are used for decades and are often occupied all year in mild climates such as Costa Rica's. When soaring, they hold their wings flat, rock little and flap more often, and they gather in a big spiral group called a kettle.

Where it lives

Black Vultures live across Costa Rica from the coast up into the high mountains. They become uncommon or rare above about 2000 m.

In Costa Rica they are usually seen flying over towns and open country, and they are scarcer over forested areas. In rural areas they are a common sight, soaring or perched. A birder reported them at most low to middle elevation areas across the country.

When to see it

Breeding is reported from November to March, and in Guanacaste they breed in the rainy season.

Similar birds

When soaring, the Turkey Vulture (zonchiche) holds its wings in a V and rocks side to side, while the Black Vulture holds them flat, rocks little and flaps more often. Seen in flight, the Black Vulture also has a very short tail, a pale patch under the outer primaries and a slightly smaller size than the Turkey Vulture and the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. Young King Vultures are larger than Black Vultures, have no white in the primaries and have a shorter tail.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it zopilote negro, zoncho or gallinazo. Zoncho is the name used in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, while Panama uses gallote. The word zopilote comes from the Nahuatl tzopilotl, and one explanation of the name refers to the way a flying vulture seems to carry carrion hanging from its claws.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), and the IUCN rates the species Least Concern with a stable population.

Photography tips

After rain, perched Black Vultures spread their wings to dry, which makes a good moment for a wing-spread photo. They regularly sit on bare branches of dead trees, often alongside Turkey Vultures, so you can compare the two species side by side.