Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

How to find it

Scan wetland edges and fence posts in the northern lowlands, and watch for a vulture gliding very low over marsh or flooded pasture. A boat guide on the Medio Queso river, reached by a road just south of the Los Chiles airport, can take birders to the marsh specialties, and one trip there found lots of them. Another northern tour birded the Medio Queso marshes from the road and by boat in the afternoon. The refuge is reached by boat from the town of Los Chiles along the Río Frío, through canals and the river mouth. Low-flying vultures course over both marshes, so practise telling them from Turkey Vulture by behaviour, wing pattern and head colour.

How to recognise it

Adults have an orange to yellow-orange head with a blue-violet crown, a red eye and a whitish bill. The plumage is black with a green sheen. Birds measure about 53 to 66 cm long across the species' range.

Immatures are browner, with a dusky head and a white nape, so a bird with a dark head is a young one.

In flight, both this vulture and the Turkey Vulture hold the wings in a V and rock side to side. Here the primaries are pale gray, giving a black and silver look, and the bird holds its wings in a shallow V. It usually stays lower than a Turkey Vulture.

Behaviour and diet

It is usually solitary or in pairs, sometimes joining loose groups of other vultures. Its flight resembles the Turkey Vulture's, but it more often passes very close to the ground, gliding low over wetlands in search of food.

It perches on fence posts and other low perches. It eats mostly carrion, finding it by sight and smell. Its bill is weak, so it relies on larger vultures such as the King Vulture to open big carcasses.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives in swamps, wet savannas and riverside forest. Across its range it uses seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, mangroves and heavily degraded former forest, and it is generally not found at high elevations.

It is common and probably resident around the Río Frío region in the north. It is a rare, sporadic visitor to the Tempisque basin (such as Palo Verde National Park), the Osa Peninsula and perhaps other Pacific lowlands.

When to see it

It makes marked seasonal movements tied to changing water levels in its habitat. A Costa Rican magazine says it is easiest to spot right after the rainy season ends, at Medio Queso or at the wildlife refuge reached from Los Chiles.

Similar birds

The Turkey Vulture is the real look-alike, and head colour is the dependable clue. A faint pale brown patch above the base of the primaries is not a reliable mark, because many Turkey Vultures show something similar. The Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, a South American species, is larger and less brown, with a longer tail and a less orange head.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides the AOCR name Zopilote Cabecigualdo, Costa Ricans also use Noneca and plain zopilote. The Turkey Vulture is called zonchiche. Zopilote cabecigualdo is the name used in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, while Mexico says aura sabanera or zopilote sabanero and Colombia says guala sabanera.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), and the IUCN rates it Least Concern, with a wide range and a stable population, though it is the rarest vulture in Costa Rica.

Photography tips

Fence posts and low perches around the northern wetlands are the best chance for a steady subject. Because it often passes very close to the ground, a low glide over marsh or flooded pasture can bring it nearer than a Turkey Vulture would come.