Vultures may be ugly birds and their lifestyles are of the “hold your nose” variety but as nature’s clean-up crew they’re definitely leaders of the pack. In honour of International Vulture Awareness Day and in appreciation for their outstanding accomplishments in the field of organic salvage and remediation, we’re proud to present the world’s 8 most amazing vultures!
1. Bearded Vulture
Images via: Naturephoto-CZ and BirdInfo
The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the Lammergeier (“Lamb Hawk”) or formerly Ossifrage (“bone breaker”) sports a copiously feathered head and neck - for vultures, that is. Bearded Vultures are native to mountainous areas mainly in southeastern Europe and northern Africa east to India and Tibet.
The Bearded Vulture derives most of its nutritional sustenance from animal bones and especially bone marrow, which it obtains by either crushing smaller bones with their powerful beaks or dropping larger bones after lifting them high into the air. The birds’ digestive juices are extremely acidic with PH readings approaching 1 - a necessary and effective adaptation to a diet of not just bone marrow but bones themselves.
Image via: Wikipedia
The time-worn story of a boy and his dog doesn’t always apply to the world’s varied cultures and what rhymes with culture? You got it: vulture! We’re not sure why this Afghan boy is carrying a Bearded Vulture in the above photo but he certainly looks pleased and satisfied with himself. The vulture, not so much.
2. White-Headed Vulture
Images via: Dreamstime, Arkive, BirdLife Intl. and All Bird
The White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is a medium-sized vulture native to Africa. Under pressure by expanding human activity and habitat loss, the White-Headed Vulture’s official conservation status worsened from Least Concern to Vulnerable according to the 2007 IUCN Red List.
Images via: Arkive and Animal Pictures Archive
The various colours of the White-Headed Vulture’s head and neck contrast with the comparatively dull feathers on the lower parts of its 4kg to 5kg (8.8lbs to 11lbs) body. The White-Headed Vulture features a shock of short platinum blonde feathers atop its head, prompting comparisons to the bad boy of power-pop-punk, Billy Idol.
3. California Condor
Image via: TrekNature
The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is North America’s largest land bird and a triumph of the conservation movement. Since all 22 remaining wild condors were taken into captivity in 1987 as per the California Condor Recovery Plan, their population has increased nearly twenty-fold with approximately 225 birds living in the wild as of May 2012. Though listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN, California Condor populations are gradually expanding and can be found in California, Arizona, Utah and Baja California.
Images via: Rate Every Animal and Arkive
The wingspan of an adult California Condor can reach an astounding 3.4 meters (about 11 ft), leading to cases where distant condors have been mistaken for small airplanes. The birds are also long-lived with some individuals reaching an estimated age of 60 years.
Image via: TheDude.com
It’s thought that ancient relatives of the California Condor like the formidable Teratornis fed upon the carcasses of now-extinct megafauna such as Giant Sloths and Mastodons. Like their modern descendants, these paleo-condors probably lacked a sense of smell and found carcasses visually using their keen eyesight.
4. Rüppell’s Vulture
Images via: Gwendolen and Elliott Neep
Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) is a large vulture native to sub-Saharan Africa and the East African rift valley. Their wings are flecked with white and medium brown in a lacy pattern that can be quite beautiful when the birds are clean. Weighing up to 9kg or 20 lbs., these “typical” vultures have a specialized type of haemoglobin which enables them to fly extremely high yet still maintain a viable level of oxygen in their blood.
Image via: Buaujvf
While it’s true that “you can’t soar with eagles if you’re surrounded by dodos,” vultures appear to possess certain visual characteristics of each. They sure can soar, however, being the world’s highest flying bird: on November 29th of 1973, a Rüppell’s Vulture was reportedly ingested into an airliner’s jet engine off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire at an altitude of approximately 11,000 meters or 36,100 feet.
5. Egyptian Vulture
Images via: Mallorca Hiking, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings and Bridgeman
The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a small species with predominantly white plumage and contrasting black flight feathers. Nicknamed “Pharaoh’s Chicken”, Egyptian Vultures inhabit a wide latitudinal region stretching from the Canary Islands in the west to India in the east.
Image via: Wolfstad
The Egyptian Vulture’s sharp, black-tipped beak is bright yellow with the colour continuing back to and over its bare face. The birds replenish the carotenoid pigments required to maintain their yellow skin coloration by eating herbivore faeces.
Images via: Foto Martien
Birds such as crows have been observed using “tools” before, but most people wouldn’t guess vultures were toll-users as well. Indeed they are! Egyptian Vultures are egg-eaters should the opportunity present itself and ostrich eggs offer a wealth of nutrition inside their thick shells. Egyptian Vultures use stones grasped in their beaks to hammer through these shells, which makes one wonder how they arrived at this technique in the first place.
6. Andean Condor
Images via: Hawk Experience and Arkive
The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) rivals its California cousin for the title of “bird with the widest wingspan,” as those of large male specimens can reach up to 3.2 meters (10.5 ft) across. Males are generally larger than females with the former weighing up to 15 kg (33 lbs) for males and the latter up to 11 kg (24 lbs). Andean Condors are primarily scavengers and have remarkably long lifespans; captive specimens have lived into their late seventies!
Images via: Oiseaux-Birds
In contrast to the California Condor, Andean Condors are much more subdued in appearance. Mature birds are mainly black-feathered with a contrasting ruff of white, downy feathers circling their necks. Males feature prominent wattles and caruncles which, unlike those of domestic roosters, are dull red to dark grey in colour.
7. Turkey Vulture
Images via: Wild Florida, Lakeside Nature Center, Naturephoto-CZ and Carolina Bird Club
America’s most familiar vulture, the Turkey Vulture also goes by the names Buzzard or “Carrion Crow” though it’s significantly larger than even the largest crows or ravens. Turkey Vultures can further be distinguished by their bare, bald, red heads and white-tipped beaks.
Image via: INKity
Turkey Vultures are not considered to be a threatened species although they are legally protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Though they certainly don’t act like Wild Turkeys, Turkey Vultures look a lot like them from a distance which is why they acquired their colloquial name.
Images via: Falls of the Ohio State Park and Birds of South Carolina
Turkey Vultures prefer fresh carrion and, unusually among vultures, possess a finely tuned sense of smell. Other, more scent-challenged species of vultures and condors have learned to follow Turkey Vultures to feeding sites where they take over the carcass, using their stronger beaks to tear open the hide. Once the larger birds have eaten their fill, the Turkey Vultures move in for the leftovers - everyone’s a winner when it comes to a vulture’s dinner!
8. King Vulture
Image via: Joan Embery
We’ve saved the best-looking vulture for last and yes, there ARE attractive vultures! Take the King Vulture for instance. This New World vulture is the third largest vulture in the Americas, weighing from 2.7 to 4.5 kilograms (6–10 lbs) with wingspans of up to 2 meters (6.6 ft). Besides its impressive array of shades on and around its head, the King Vulture sports a fleshy, bright yellow to orange caruncle on the upper portion of its beak, the purpose of which is not clear.
Images via: For The Public Eye, Wikipedia, Falcons of the World and The Beauty of Animals
King Vultures are the only vulture to live predominantly in heavily forested areas, where its usual prey are carcasses of tree sloths or tapirs. Both males and females bear caruncles on their beaks but males differ by having mainly white plumage as opposed to the darker feathers covering females. King Vultures live up to 30 years in captivity and are not considered to be threatened though there are signs they are in gradual decline due to loss of their jungle habitats.
Image via: Annamiticus
The fourth International Vulture Awareness Day on September 1st, 2012 was a soaring success with over 150 zoos, bird parks and conservation organizations participating. Vultures may not be pretty but they’ve got a dirty job and somebody’s gotta do it. Hopefully, greater awareness of what these birds do for us will help us do more for them.
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