Sarcoramphus papa - The king vulture is a large bird with a wing span reaching 2 meters. It is the only large vulture hunting primarily over the jungles of Central and South America. It can locate carrion hidden beneath the forest canopy with its keen sense of smell. This has allowed it to fill a niche unavailable to most other vultures having to rely on sight to find food. The king vulture also has the most powerful beak of New World vultures and can easily rip open the carcass of any animal.
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The Viceroyalty of New Granada was created in 1717 as a district within the Spanish possessions in the New World. The area included the northern tip of South America; from Panama to Northern Peru. When Spanish authority in the Americas was hampered by Napoleon’s invasion and conquest of Spain, New Granada used the opportunity to declare itself independent from Spain, referring to itself as Gran Colombia. The federation was formed in 1819 and was formally abolished in 1830.
