Family Cathartidae
King Vulture
Sarcoramphus papa
In Spanish: Zopilote Rey (Rey Gallinazo, Rey de Zopilotes)
- Resident
Undisturbed lowland forest below about 1,500 m. All year; ask us where our guides see it.
Red, purple, orange and yellow, all on one bare head. The King Vulture is mostly white, and its head is a patchwork of red and purple skin, vivid orange on the neck and yellow on the throat, with an irregular golden crest at the base of the bill.
Far off, watch how it flies. The wings are held flat with the tips slightly raised, and from a distance the bird can seem to have no head at all.
Where to see it
- Hotspot page
- Named place
- Nearby lodge (numbers match the cards)
- Piedras Blancas National Park and the Golfo Dulce
- Braulio Carrillo National ParkNot on the map above: it sits too far away to show at this zoom.
- Carara National ParkNot on the map above: it sits too far away to show at this zoom.
Nearby lodges
Within 20 km of a place on the map, in the same zone.
- 1
Esquinas Rainforest Lodge0.4 km from Piedras Blancas National ParkSee the lodge - 2
Tapirus Lodge3.0 km from Braulio Carrillo National Park (off the map)See the lodge - 3Photo comingSanta Lucía Jungle Hacienda, Autograph Collection2.7 km from Carara National Park (off the map)See the lodge
- 4
Cerro Lodge3.1 km from Carara National Park (off the map)See the lodge - 5
Macaw Lodge11.2 km from Carara National Park (off the map)See the lodge
How to recognise it
Big: about 67 to 81 cm long, with wings 1.2 to 2 m across. Adults are mostly white, with dark grey to black flight feathers and tail, and a thick dark ruff, a collar of feathers, around the neck. The coloured bare head and the golden crest settle it. Male and female look the same and differ little in size. Do not wait for a call: it has no voice box, and the most it makes is low croaking and wheezing in courtship. At a fresh carcass it is the one that makes the first cut.
Where it lives
Undisturbed tropical lowland forest, generally not above 1,500 m. At a fresh carcass it is the one that makes the first cut.
When to see it
All year, as a resident.
Trips that find it
- Best of Birding in Costa Rica9 to 10 nightsSee the trip
- Best of Birding in Costa Rica's Caribbean9 nightsSee the trip
- Caribbean Lowlands Birding Tour11 nightsSee the trip
- Dancing with Quetzals11 nightsSee the trip
- Birding in Costa Rica's Eco-Zones11 nightsSee the trip
- The Southern Highlands and Pacific9 nightsSee the trip
- Costa Rica's Top Birding Spots11 nightsSee the trip
Tell us when you are travelling and our team in Costa Rica builds the trip around the birds you want to see.
Plan my birding tripHow we know this 1 sources, each read on the date shown
- Wikipedia: King vulture read 4 November 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_vulture