Latin name: Cathartes aura

Common name: Turkey Vulture

GigaScience: http://gigadb.org/dataset/101021

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_vulture

Encyclopedia of Life: http://eol.org/pages/1049010/overview

Brief introduction: The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura aura (Linnaeus, 1758)), also known as the Turkey Buzzard in North America, is the most widespread vulture species. It lives in a range of open and semi-open areas, such as shrublands, sub-tropical forests and pastures. The Turkey Vulture is a scavanger, feeding exclusively on carrion - it flies low using its keen eye and sense of smell to detect the gases produced during the decay of dead animals.

Related papers:
Zhang et al., Comparative Genomics Reveals Insights into Avian Genome Evolution and Adaptation. Science, (2014).
Jarvis et al., Whole Genome Analyses Resolve Early Branches in the Tree of Life of Modern Birds. Science, (2014).