New World vulture

New World vultures; Temporal range: Paleocene – Holocene,
	Turkey vulture
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cathartiformes
Family:	Cathartidae; Lafresnaye, 1839
Genera
	Cathartes; Coragyps; Gymnogyps; Sarcoramphus; Vultur
	Approximate Cathartidae range map; Summer-only range of turkey vulture At least one species present year-round
Synonyms
	Vulturidae Illiger, 1811;

Cathartidae, known commonly as New World vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. They are known as "New World" vultures to distinguish them from Old World vultures, with which the Cathartidae does not form a single clade despite the two being similar in appearance and behavior as a result of convergent evolution.

Like other vultures, New World vultures are scavengers, having evolved to feed off of the carcasses of dead animals without any notable ill effects. Some species of New World vulture have a good sense of smell, whereas Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. Other adaptations shared by both Old and New World vultures include a bald head, devoid of feathers to prevent rotting matter from accumulating while feeding, and an extremely disease-resistant digestive system to protect against scavenging-related germs.