S. gryphus, ♂, Chile. ¼ nat. size.
S. papa, ♀, Mazatlan. ¼ nat. size.
Genera and Subgenera.
A. Crop naked. Male with a fleshy crest, or lobe, attached to the top of the cere. Bill very robust and strong, its outlines very convex; cere much shorter than the head.
1. Sarcorhamphus. Entire neck bare; nasal cavity entirely open; posterior claw very thick and strongly curved. Tail even.
Sexes different, the female lacking any fleshy caruncles, or appendages, on the head and neck. Frontal lobe, or fleshy crest of male, extending from the anterior border of the cere to the middle of the crown; throat with a median wattle, or “dewlap”; side of the neck with a somewhat convoluted or twisted caruncle, extending from the side of the occiput obliquely downward, across the neck to near the lower extremity of the gular wattle; lower part of the foreneck with a pendent fleshy appendage. Plumage beginning below the neck by a crescentic ruff of soft white down, or cottony feathers, around the posterior portion. Primaries longer than the secondaries; front of the tibio-tarsal joint feathered … Sarcorhamphus.[96]
Sexes alike, the female possessing the caruncular appendages of the head as well as the male. Frontal lobe attached to only the middle portion of the cere, above the nostril; throat without a median wattle; side of the neck without any caruncles; no appendage on the foreneck; auricular region with longitudinal corrugations, and occiput densely haired. Plumage beginning below the neck by a ruff of broad, well-developed, normal feathers. Primaries not longer than the secondaries. Front of the tibio-tarsal joint naked … Cathartes.[97]
B. Crop feathered. Male without a fleshy crest, or other appendages, on the head. Bill less robust, variable as to strength, its outlines only moderately convex; cere nearly equal to the head in length. Sexes alike.