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Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species

Local animals in this group:

New World vultures

Cathartidae

The New World vultures are a small family of very large birds, including only seven species. They occur only in North, Central and South America. Although they look like the vultures in Africa, and like other birds of prey, they are probably more closely related to storks. The bald heads and necks and large hooked bills are adaptations for scavenging. The endangered California condor is in this family. So is the much more common turkey vulture .

 
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. "Cathartidae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 23, 2024 at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/accounts/Cathartidae/

BioKIDS is sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative. It is a partnership of the University of Michigan School of Education, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Detroit Public Schools. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant DRL-0628151.
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