Biotemas (Jan 2010)

Exchanging carrion for fresh meat: the vulture Cathartes burrovianus (Aves, Cathartidae) preys on the snake Xenodon merremii (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) in southeastern Brazil

  • Thiago Oliveira e Almeida,
  • Fernanda Carvalho Machado,
  • Henrique Caldeira Costa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2010v23n4p177
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 4

Abstract

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The Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes burrovianus) is known mainly for its necrophagic habits, typical of the Cathartidae. However, members of this family also hunt live prey, though this behavior is not well documented. We report here on a C. burrovianus preying on the non-venomous snake Xenodon merremii, at an anthropogenic site in southeastern Brazil.