The King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), one of the larger species of vulture, live in the uppermost branches of emergent canopy trees anywhere from Mexico to central Argentina and Trinidad.They have excellent eyesight and perch high up in these trees so that they have a great view of what is going on below them. The king vulture's sense of smell is not as good as that of other types of vultures, so they do not always use it to detect food. When it sees that other scavenger birds have discovered a meal, they shoot down from the sky and push the others out of the way. All of the other species vultures are quick to move aside for the "king." Males and females are identical and nearly the same size with a height of 32 inches and a wingspan of 4 feet. Some suggest that the bird's name stems from an old Mayan legend in which this vulture was a "king" or "lord" that carried messages between humans and the Gods.
