The genus Cathartes includes medium-sized to large carrion-feeding birds in the New World vulture (Cathartidae) family.

[3] Cathartes is the Greek word καθαρτής, for "purifier," referring to these vultures' role as "cleansers" that "tidy up" decomposing corpses in nature.

[11] However, recent DNA study on the evolutionary relationships between bird groups also suggests that they are related to the other birds of prey and should be part of a new order Accipitriformes instead,[12] a position adopted in 2010 by the AOU's North American check-list,[13] and shared with the International Ornithological Congress.

All three species share a well-developed sense of smell, which is rare in birds, that enables them to locate carrion under the canopy.

While all species obtain most of their diet by scavenging, the lesser yellow-headed vulture is known to hunt live prey in wetland environments.