---
title: "Grote geelkopgier"
description: "Cathartes melambrotus — Vogels. The greater yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes melambrotus), also known as the forest vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/greater-yellow-headed-vulture
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Grote geelkopgier

> Cathartes melambrotus — Vogels. The greater yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes melambrotus), also known as the forest vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae.

- Scientific name: *Cathartes melambrotus*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 1683
- Wikidata: [Q250490](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q250490)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4760](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4760)

## Names

- en: Greater Yellow-headed Vulture
- de: Wald-Gelbkopfgeier
- es: Aura selvática
- fr: Grand Urubu
- nl: Grote geelkopgier
- pt: Urubu-da-mata
- pl: Sępnik żółtogłowy

## Countries with the most observations

EC (373), PE (329), BR (325), GF (158), CO (77), SR (57), BO (39), GY (39), VE (4)

## Summary

The greater yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes melambrotus), also known as the forest vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the lesser yellow-headed vulture until they were split in 1964. It is found in South America in tropical moist lowland forests. It is a fairly large bird, with a wingspan of 166–178 cm (65–70 in), a weight of 1.65 kilograms (3.6 lb) and a body length of 64–75 cm (25–30 in). The body plumage is black, and the head and neck, which are featherless, range in color from deep yellow to pale orange. It lacks a syrinx, and…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_yellow-headed_vulture

## Photo

![Grote geelkopgier](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/greater-yellow-headed-vulture/medium.jpg)

Photo: Allan Harris · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/343743027

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/greater-yellow-headed-vulture?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).