Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of American vultures, giving name to the family Cathartidæ.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun type genus of the Cathartidae: turkey vultures

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The young crocodiles are often attacked, and have their eyes pecked out, by the small gallinazo or "zamuro" vultures (_aura_ and _cathartes_), just in the same way that we have seen one of a larger size become the victim of the more powerful king vultures (_Sarcoramphus papa_).

    The Forest Exiles The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon Mayne Reid 1850

  • He is, more probably, a distinct species of _cathartes_; for, although he resembles the turkey-buzzard in shape and size, his plumage appears to me of a purer black, and the skin of his head, neck, and legs, of a much more vivid red -- having an appearance as if these parts had been painted.

    The Boy Hunters Mayne Reid 1850

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