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ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 15: – , 2004
© The Neotropical Ornithological Society
BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE KING VULTURE
(SARCORAMPHUS PAPA) IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL
Eduardo Pio Mendes de Carvalho Filho, Giancarlo Zorzin & Gustav V. A. Specht
S.O.S. FALCONIFORMES – Research Center for Conservation of Neotropical Birds of Prey.
Odilon Braga St, 1370, Zipcode 30310–390, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail:
falconiformes@vsnet.com.br
Resumo. – Biologia reprodutiva de Urubu Rei (Sarcoramphus papa) no sudeste do Brasil. – Este
artigo apresenta dados sobre a biologia reprodutiva do Urubu Rei (Sarcoramphus papa) em uma reserva par-
ticular da Fazenda Cauaia situada no município de Matozinhos-MG. O estudo foi desenvolvido entre
Outubro de 2001 a Abril de 2003. A incubação ocorreu em Outubro ao final de Novembro de 2001 e o
desenvolvimento do ninhego entre Novembro de 2001 a Abril de 2002. O ninho foi descoberto em 27 de
Outubro de 2001, em um penhasco de formação rochosa de 70 m, quando um adulto saiu voando de uma
fenda situada a 44 m do solo. O ovo era branco medindo 95.6 mm x 63.6 mm. O ninhego abandonou o
ninho com aproximadamente 130 dias após o nascimento. Foram encontrados no ninho oito pedaços de
ossos de dedos de bezerros (Carpicus unaris).
Abstract. – We studied nesting King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa) between October 2001 and April 2003.
The study was accomplished at a private reserve belonging to CAUAIA’ s farm, situated in Matozinhos,
Minas Gerais, inside of APA CARSTE environmental protection area of Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais. Incu-
bation occurred in October and November 2001, and the development of the nestling lasted from late
November 2001 to early in April 2002. The nest was located in a fissure 44 m above ground of a 70 m cal-
careous quarry. A single egg was found in the nest: it was white and measured 95.6 mm x 63.6 mm. The
nestling left the nest 130 days after hatching. We collected eight pieces of finger bones of young oxen
(Carpicus unaris). Accepted 30 October 2003.
Key-words: Sarcoramphus papa, Cathartidae, cerrado, egg, nest, nestling, reproduction, King Vulture,
southeastern Brazil.
INTRODUCTION
The reproductive ecology of tropical new
world vultures is little known. Among the five
species that occur in Brazil, the nest of two of
them, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes
burrovianus) and Greater Yellow-headed
Vulture (Cathartes melambrotus), remains
undescribed, and a bare minimum is known
for the third one. A few observations on the
nesting of the King Vulture (Sarcoramphus
papa) have been made in Venezuela (Ramo &
Busto 1988). This vulture inhabits Neotropi-
cal forests and open pasture, and occurs
from Mexico to northern Argentina and all
over Brazil (del Hoyo et. al. 1994). The
present study provides additional information
on the nest, egg, nestling development, and
behavior.
METHODS
The study was conducted in a private reserve
belonging to an agricultural concern
(CAUAIA), measuring approximately 900 ha,
and situated in the city of Matozinhos, Minas
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MENDES DE CARVALHO FILHO ET AL.
Gerais. This reserve is part of the environ-
mental protection area of APA CARSTE in
Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, at 19º28’S,
44º02’W. The climate is predominantly savan-
nah-like with dry winter. The average annual
rainfall is 1328.7 mm, and the mean annual
temperature ranges from a minimum of
15.6ºC to a maximum of 28.2ºC. The altitude
of the site varies between 600 and 650 m. The
region studied is characterized by “cársticas”
formations, outcrops of limestone and vege-
tation predominantly of the open pasture,
ranging from closed field to open pasture
with “capoeira” and deciduous bushes. The
area holds a forest area of approximately 500
ha, deciduous and semi-deciduous bushes,
and also areas of grass and diverse planta-
tions.
Beginning in July 2000, we made a qualita-
tive survey of raptor species of the
region, and searched for nests with the
aid of 10 x 25 and 8 x 40 binoculars. Observa-
tions were noted while traveling throughout
the reserve, totaling 90 ha of fieldwork. We
discovered the nest on 21 October 2001 in
the Cauaia Farm, in a crevice of a 70 m high
limestone wall (Fig. 1), while surveying rap-
tors in the area. However, we were on the
ground, next to the cliff, and first checked the
nest only on 27 October. The nest was exam-
ined weekly during the first month and
biweekly until the young left the nest. The egg
and nestling were photographed using a
Canon-A2E camera with 28–80 mm and
200–400 mm lenses. A 1.5 m3 blind was made
of green cloth for observing and photograph-
ing the nest. A 100 m rope and climbing
equipment were used to descend to the nest.
FIG. 1. Limestone cliff, in a crevice of which the King Vulture nest ws located (indicated by an arrow)
Photo: Eduardo Pio Carvalho.
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BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE KING VULTURE IN BRAZIL
The height of the nest was measured from the
ground using a rope. The egg was measured
using calipers to the nearest 0.05 mm, and
weighed with a Pesola 300-g scale.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Threatened by our approach when we first
examined the nest, one of the adults flew
from the crevice. On the same wall was a
nesting pair of American Kestrels (Falco sparv-
erius), and a pair of Black Vultures (Coragyps
atratus). We observed no interactions among
these different species. We found one single
egg on the ground, along with some sticks,
pebbles and feathers (Fig. 2). The egg was
white and measured 95.6 x 63.6 mm. On 10
November, the egg weighed 191 g. The incu-
bation period of King Vultures in captivity
varies from 56 to 58 days (Brown & Amadon
1968). King Vulture nests were described in
Panama and Venezuela, also with one egg
(Smith 1970, Ramo 1988), and Ruschi (1979)
described one nest on the ground with two
eggs. The development of the nestling
(weight, total length and wing span) was fol-
lowed according to dates listed in Table 1.
The nestling hatched during the morning of
23 November and measured 13.9 cm in total
length. The adults were uneasy and both con-
tinued entering and leaving the nest while we
were descending to it. The nestling kept its
eyes closed and its body was covered with soft
white down, except for the feet and the head.
FIG. 2. King Vulture egs on the ground in the crevice. The substrate is made of sticks, pebbles, and feath-
ers. Photo: Eduardo Pio Carvalho.
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MENDES DE CARVALHO FILHO ET AL.
These non-covered parts were pink except for
the surrounding region of the eyes which was
dark (Fig. 3). After 22 days, the nestling had
doubled in length to 33 cm, and its weight
reached 1000 g,. The down-remains were
white in color, with the head and throat black
(Fig. 4). This coloration remained until the
feathers appeared. The nestling demonstrated
an intense stress in our presence, emitting
croaking sounds with regurgitating motions,
lowering the head close to the feet, suggesting
that such a posture is adopted in the case of
TABLE 1. Infomations on nestling's development of a King Vulture nestling.
Date Days after
hatching
Total length
(cm) (From
beak to tail
feathers)
Wingspan
(cm)
Wei g ht
(g)
Observations
23/11/2001
08/12/2001
15/12/2001
26/12/2001
05/01/2002
21/01/2002
16/02/2002
13/03/2002
08/04/2002
Some hours
15
22
33
43
59
85
110
136
13.9
31.5
33
41
50
53
60.5
72.7
—
—
27
40
54
64
94
134
160
—
—
650
1000
1350
1960
2420
3090
3490
—
Nestling few hours after hatching
The primary remiges had 1 cm of lenght
Rectrices quills started to appear
Nestling well developed, few days to
leave the nest
The nestling was not in the nest anymore
FIG. 3. Nestling shortly after hatching, on 23 November. Photo: Giancarlo Zorzin
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BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE KING VULTURE IN BRAZIL
some threat. This behavior was also observed
in a nestlingfound in a rotten stump in Vene-
zuela (Ramo & Busto 1988). After one month
of life, the nestling demonstrated an aggres-
sive behavior, trying to intimidate us by
stamping its feet on the ground and attacked
with the beak. The feathers of the wings
began to emerge after 41 days, and then those
of the tail, and afterwards the body contours.
On 13 March 2002, it was well developed and
still more aggressive, weighing more than 3
kg, and was difficult to handle (Fig. 5). The
bird abandoned the nest at approximately 130
days after hatching. At this time, the covering
feathers were dark gray, but the chest and
abdomen were not fully covered with feathers,
as observed by Ramo & Busto (1988), and the
flight feathers were of a uniform black. Eight
pieces of finger bones of young oxen (Carpicus
unaris) were found in the nest.
The adults were observed eight times, dur-
ing 14 visits to the nest. The first three obser-
vations were during the incubation period.
During the fourth observation, the parents
showed some signs of stress, most probably
because the nestling had just hatched. At
other times, only one adult was observed next
to the nest, always in the morning, at about
10:00 o’clock. Its presence was not registered
during our afternoon visits, suggesting that
adult attendance at the nest was most fre-
quent during the morning. Adults were
observed feeding on oxen carcasses. On 12
October 2002, we observed a juvenile King
Vulture on a tree closed to the nest area. Its
plumage was whole black and it was accompa-
nied by an adult, suggesting that breeding
occurs every two years.
Detailed research on the breeding biology
of this species is fundamental for a better
understanding of its population dynamics.
FIG. 4. The nestling on 15 December, 22 days after
hatching, and prior to fledging. Photo: Eduardo
Pio Carvalho.
FIG. 5. The nestling on 13 March 2002. Photo:
Giancarlo Zorzin.
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MENDES DE CARVALHO FILHO ET AL.
High cliffs are of vital importance for the
conservation of King Vultures and many
other raptor species, thus any mining activity
in these formations should be done with cau-
tion, or stopped during breeding season.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to Mr. Jose Hein, owner of
the Cauaia farm, for allowing us to work
on his property, to the biologist Carlos Edu-
ardo A. Carvalho and researcher Gustavo
Diniz M. Carvalho for helping in fieldwork,
to the veterinarian Dilton Trivelli Pepper
for identifying bones found in the nest, to
Dr. Jorge L. B. Albuquerque for an earlier
review of this manuscript, to Jane Elce Scheid
Ramos for help in the preparation of the
manuscript, and INMET – National Meteo-
rology Institute (5º Meteorology District) –
for providing us with climatic data on the
studied area.
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