Vultures are large, carrion-eating birds that are excellent at soaring flight. Like lions and other large predators, vultures eat meat, but unlike lions, vultures do not need to kill to survive. There are 15 species of Old World vultures and 7 Species of New World For years, many believed that all vultures were raptors and members of the order Falconiformes. In 1994, however, it was discovered that the vultures inhabiting the American continents actually evolved from a different ancestor than the European, African and Asian vultures. The apparent similarities, then, between New and Old World vultures are not a result of common ancestry, but rather a classic example of convergent evolution .
There is still debate over the evolutionary history of New World vultures, and some scientists believe the birds are most closely related to storks and ibises others believe the birds do indeed belong with other raptors in Falconiformes, and still others believe the North and South American vultures are sufficiently distinct to be placed in their own, unique category
