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Glite Dictionary
🦅 A vulture genus 🦅 A bird genus
Cathartes

Cathartes

9.9
A group of large vultures in the Americas that includes the turkey vulture
  • proper noun
  • /kæˈθɑːr.tɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Cathartes
  • (b) Observed detection rate of differentially aged carcasses by turkey vultures, Cathartes aura, using polynomial smoothing.
  • Cathartes aura
  • vultures, Cathartes
  • turkey vultures, Cathartes

Examples

  • Keywords: Boiga irregularis; carrion; Cathartes aura; decomposition; scavenging

    Academic text (2006)

  • The Cathartes aura is often seen soaring high above the fields, searching for carrion.

  • In North America, the Cathartes genus represents the turkey vultures known for their scavenging habits.

  • Naturalists often study the behaviors of the Cathartes aura to understand its role in the ecosystem.

Synonyms

genus Cathartes
vsCathartes
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of vultures from the Americas that includes the turkey vulture

is the same genus named without explicitly stating the family

Compounds

genus Cathartes
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of vultures from the Americas that includes the turkey vulture

Surface Forms

Cathartes main

Etymology

Cathartes as a scientific name comes from the Greek kathartes ('purifier') and katharos ('clean'). The name remembers that these vultures help 'clean' the land by eating carrion, so it matches their scavenging habit.