(lesser yellow-headed vultures (C. burrovianus), greater yellow-headed vultures (C. melambrotus), and turkey vultures (C. aura)), while the second consists of king vultures (Sarcoramphus papa), California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) and Andean condors (Vultur gryphus).

New World vultures were traditionally placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes. However, in the late 20th century some ornithologists argued that they are more closely related to storks