World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. The 16 species in 9 genera are: Cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus White-rumped vulture, Gyps bengalensis Rüppell's vulture, Gyps rueppelli Indian vulture, Gyps indicus Slender-billed vulture, Gyps tenuirostris Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis White-backed vulture, Gyps africanus Cape vulture, Gyps coprotheres Hooded vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus Red-headed vulture, Sarcogyps calvus Lappet-faced vulture, Torgos tracheliotos White-headed vulture, Trigonoceps occipitalis Bearded vulture (Lammergeier), Gypaetus barbatus Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus Palm-nut vulture, Gypohierax angolensis New World vultures The New World vultures and condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas belong to the family Cathartidae. Recent DNA evidence suggests that they should be included within order Accipitriformes along with birds of prey including hawks, eagles, and Old World vultures. Several species have a good sense of smell, unusual for raptors, and are able to smell dead animals from great heights, up to a mile away. The seven species are: Black vulture Coragyps atratus in South America and north to the US Turkey vulture Cathartes aura throughout the Americas to southern Canada Lesser yellow-headed vulture Cathartes burrovianus in South America and north to Mexico Greater yellow-headed vulture Cathartes melambrotus in the Amazon Basin of tropical South America California condor Gymnogyps californianus in California, formerly widespread in the mountains of western North America Andean condor Vultur gryphus in the Andes King vulture Sarcoramphus papa from southern Mexico to northern Argentina Feeding Vultures are scavengers, meaning that they eat dead animals. Outside of the oceans, vultures are the only known obligate scavengers. They rarely attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first. Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their crops bulge, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. These birds do not carry food to their young in their talons but disgorge it from their crops. The mountain-dwelling bearded vulture is the only vertebrate to specialize in eating bones; it carries bones to the nest for the young, and hunts some live prey. Vultures are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. Vulture stomach acid is exceptionally corrosive (pH=1.0), allowing them to safely digest putrid carcasses infected with botulinum toxin, hog cholera bacteria, and anthrax bacteria that would