Facts About Vultures
Facts About Vultures
Old World vultures
The Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight.
There are 16 species:
1. Cinereous Vulture, Aegypius monachus
2. Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus
3, Palm-nut Vulture, Gypohierax angolensis
4, Griffon Vulture, Gyps fulvus
5. White-rumped Vulture, Gyps bengalensis
6. Rüppell's Vulture, Gyps rueppelli
7. Indian Vulture, Gyps indicus
8. Slender-billed Vulture, Gyps tenuirostris
9. Himalayan Vulture, Gyps himalayensis
10. White-backed Vulture, Gyps africanus
11. Cape Vulture, Gyps coprotheres
12. Hooded Vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus
13. Egyptian Vulture, Neophron percnopterus
14. Red-headed Vulture, Sarcogyps calvus
15. Lappet-faced Vulture, Torgos tracheliotus
16. White-headed Vulture, Trigonoceps occipitalis
New World vultures
There are seven extant species:
1. Black Vulture Coragyps atratus in South America and north to US
2. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura throughout the Americas to southern Canada
3. Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes burrovianus in South America and north to Mexico
4. Greater Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes melambrotus in the Amazon Basin of tropical South America
5. California Condor Gymnogyps californianus in California. Formerly widespread in the mountains of western North America.
6. Andean Condor Vultur gryphus in the Andes
7. King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa from Southern Mexico to northern Argentina
Facts
2. Old World are evolved from the eagle family and the New World vultures from the turkey family. However they evolved to be very similar by performing the same scavenging role in the eco-system.
3. Old World vultures do not have a good sense of smell. They rely exclusively on incredible eyesight to locate food, a soaring vulture can spot a 3-foot animal carcass from 4 miles away.
4. The Rueppell’s griffon vulture is the world’s highest flying bird. In 1973, one collided with an airplane off the Ivory Coast. At the time the plane was flying at 37,000 feet.
5. Vultures can eat up to 20 percent of their own body weight in one sitting.
6. Vultures are equipped with a digestive system that contains special acids that will dissolve anthrax, botulism, and cholera bacteria.
7. Vultures do not go after healthy prey, but will very occasionally attack wounded and dying animals.
8. The bald, or lightly-feathered, head is specially designed to stay clean even when confronted with blood and bodily fluids present in the carcasses. Any remaining germs are baked off by the sun.
9. A group of vultures is called a venue, and when circling the air, a group of vultures is called a kettle.
10. By consuming the carcasses of diseased animals, vultures prevent the spread of life threatening diseases such as rabies and anthrax among animals and humans.
11. Most vulture keep the same mating partner for life.
12. Most vultures are social and several species can often be seen feeding together on the same carcass.
13. One of the few animals to use tools, Egyptian vultures use rocks to break open ostrich eggs.
14. An Indian White-backed vulture was observed once flying down onto a cattle carcass, but accidentally in the mouth and got stuck and died. On another occasion a vulture either on take-off or landing and flew through the window into a moving car.
15. Young turkey vultures have black heads instead of the notable pink heads of their parents.
16. A turkey vulture’s diet consists mostly of carrion (dead animals). They use their excellent sense of smell (absent or minimal in most birds) coupled with very good eyesight to locate their food.
17. The vultures in south Asia, mainly in India and Nepal have almost gone extinct in just the last 10-15 years due to a drug called Diclofenac used as pain-killers in humans and animals.
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