The vulture belongs to the birds of prey of the hawk family. Modern taxonomy believes that the New World vultures are close relatives of the condor, and the Old World vultures are the vulture and bearded man. Each species has its own specific habitat. In this article we will talk in great detail about this bird of prey.
External description
Depending on the species, the vulture bird has a medium or large body, the size varies from 65 to 120 cm, weight - from four to twelve kg. A small head of birds without feathers, on the chest plumage is poorly developed. In many species, the neck is covered with down, and in representatives of the Old World a feather collar sticking out in different directions. There is an elongated curved beak, a short rounded tail and massive legs.
Thanks to the good plumage on the wings and tail, the vultures can fly perfectly. Wide and long wings reach a span of 200-270 cm. In the color of the plumage of birds there are shades: brown, black, gray, brown, red and white. Females and males do not have anatomical differences, therefore, they do not differ in body size and plumage color. Young birds have a paler plumage than adults. A photo of a vulture bird clearly shows its grandeur and stateness.
Kinds
Vultures are also called vultures. The main types include:
- African vulture (gyps rueppellii);
- Cape vulture (gyps coprotheres);
- griffon vulture (gyps fulvus);
- Indian vulture (gyps indicus);
- Bengal vulture (gyps bengalensis);
- snow vulture (gyps himalayensis).
American Vulture (Cathartidae) or Rippel's Vulture is a bird of prey of the vulture genus. The species is named after the German zoologist Edward Rüppel. It has an external resemblance to the birds of the Sipov genus, however, it is not their close relative, but belongs to the hawk-like order of birds. A characteristic feature of the vultures of the New World is the presence of a good sense of smell in the search for prey.
Habitat
The vulture of the vulture is widespread in places with a warm climate in the eastern hemisphere of our planet. In Russia, lives in the Caucasus and Crimea. Selects well-watched mountainsides, forests, deserts and savannahs. Vulture is a sedentary bird, lives in a constant territory, and does not perform seasonal migration.
Each species populates a specific area:
- The bird of African sip is a resident of the savannahs of Africa and the forests of southern Sahara. Prefers to nest on trees in forests, along the banks of rivers, as well as in wetlands.
- The Bengal vulture lives closer to people and inhabits South Asia - Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- The Indian vulture is an inhabitant of western India and southeast Pakistan. It prefers semi-deserts, deciduous forests, foothills and river valleys.
- The griffon vulture bird lives in North Africa, Asia and Southern Europe. It prefers arid mountain slopes and flat terrain. This is one of the species that can be found on the territory of Russia - in the Crimea, the Middle Volga region, the mountains of the Caucasus and Western Siberia.
- Cape vulture nests on the cliffs of the southwest of the Republic of South Africa.
- A snow or Himalayan vulture is a resident of the highlands of Central and Central Asia: the Himalayas, Mongolia, Sayan Mountains, Tibet, Pamir, Tien Shan.
Lifestyle
Vulture bird has a calm and restrained character. Conflicts between individuals can occur only when sharing the prey. Vultures relate to other birds calmly. Vultures are very mobile and agile, despite their large torso. In flight, they prefer to calmly soar, lower their heads and retract their necks. Rarely and slowly, they flap their wings, while using a stream of warm air from the heated earth and save their energy. Birds form monogamous pairs that remain faithful to each other until the end of their days. Breeds in small groups of up to twenty pairs. They have a long life expectancy, which is up to fifty-five years.
In the search for food, birds are active only in the daytime, often forced to violate neighboring borders. They can be collected in large flocks at large prey. The weak legs of the vulture are not able to tolerate prey on the fly, therefore, eating of food occurs on the ground. Hunting forces them to soar alone for hours in the air, patiently and carefully look out for prey. It is easier for a bird to rise into the air from an elevated place than from the ground. Tidy birds often clean their plumage and bathe, especially after eating.
Diet
Excellent vision helps sipes to find food. Seeking food resembles a kind of ritual in which the whole flock is involved. They look for prey from a great height during the flight, being distributed one by one across a vast territory. The first vulture to see the prey rushes at her, giving the rest a signal to join him. Sometimes between them there is a fight for food.
Vultures are not afraid of hunger and irregular nutrition because of their stamina. A characteristic anatomical feature is volumetric goiter and stomach, which allows you to eat a huge amount of food with a margin. The vulture bird is able to eat the corpses of animals, therefore it belongs to scavengers. The diet of birds consists of:
- predatory mammals;
- mountain sheep and goat;
- elephant and crocodile;
- wildebeest and llamas;
- fish and newborn turtles;
- insects
- bird eggs.
A flock of ten vultures in twenty minutes can completely eat an antelope to the skeleton. They do not prey on large animals, but feed on their remains. They do not touch the wounded animal, but wait patiently for its death. On the shores they look for eggs of turtles and fish thrown by the surf. Big vultures are eaten by several vultures. Each representative of the flock fulfills its role in the food feast: larger individuals tear apart the thick skin of prey, others - the rest. Sip deeply sticks his head into the carcass, while not plumage plumage draining blood, thanks to the collar on his neck.
Features of reproduction and offspring
Offspring in birds appears once a year, sometimes in two years. In temperate regions, the mating season begins in early spring. In this case, one or two eggs appear, white with brown spots. Vulture bird builds a nest of twigs and grass on a hill. It mainly chooses a place on a tree or rock to protect offspring from predators.
The incubation period lasts 45-47 days. Female and male warm eggs alternately. Hatched chicks have white fluff. After a month, the stronger offspring acquires an ocher-white color. Both parents equally participate in the upbringing of their chicks, feed them, burping them from their stomach. Under the parental care, the chicks are four months old. Puberty in a young bird occurs at the age of four to seven years.
Species Population Status
In recent years, the number of Old World vultures has decreased in almost all regions of their habitat under the influence of environmental factors. New sanitary standards in agriculture provide for the disposal of dead animals, which improves sanitary conditions. However, for predatory vultures, this means a lack of food, and at the same time, a decrease in numbers. The population of white-headed vulture is slowly declining every year. The species is gradually being forced out of its range under the influence of the human factor. Griffon vulture lives in Russia. A photo of the bird is located in this section. This bird is listed in the Red Book as a small and rare species.
According to statistics from environmental organizations, Bengal, snow, and Cape are in critical condition. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the African vulture as an endangered species, despite its widespread distribution throughout the African continent. Birds are caught by locals for use in religious rituals. The number of species has decreased by ninety percent and is about 270 thousand individuals.
Interesting Facts
Vultures kill bacteria on feathers by spreading their wings and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
The increased acidity of the gastric juice of birds neutralizes cadaveric poisons from food.
The vulture is considered an excellent flyer, reaching up to sixty-five km / h in flight, and up to one hundred and twenty km / h when diving down from a height.
Wild vultures help detect gas leaks in gas pipelines, thanks to a substance that resembles the smell of carrion, which is added to the gas.