kingdom: Animalia >
phylum: Chordata >
subphylum: Vertebrata >
infraphylum: Gnathostomata >
parvphylum: Osteichthyes >
megaclass: Tetrapoda >
class: Aves >
order: Accipitriformes >
family: Cathartidae Lafresnaye, 1839 >
genus: Cathartes Illiger, 1811 >
species: Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) >