The black vulture (lat. Aegypius monachus) belongs to the Hawk family. This is a fairly large bird of prey weighing about 12 kilograms. It feeds mainly on carrion, which is why it is called the natural orderly. In the area where the black vulture lives, there will never be a spread of an epizootic of an infectious disease.
Long wide wings have a span of up to 2.5 meters, which allows the bird to soar long and smoothly in the heavenly heights in search of prey. The large head and strong neck are covered with short down, which helps to avoid contamination during meals.
Bird of Prey - Black Vulture
The beak at the neck is large, massive, slightly flattened on the sides, well adapted for cutting carcasses of animals and birds. It is painted in brownish-yellow color, in young individuals the beak is black. Paws of gray color are dense, short, with blunt claws. Legs are rather weak and unable to hold weights. The color of adults is brown, a necklace in the form of pointed light feathers is clearly visible in the lower part of the neck. Young birds are painted black.
Where does the black vulture live?
Now we will answer this question in detail. The area where the black vulture lives is mountainous areas and lowlands with rare forests. The habitat extends to northern Africa, southern Europe, the entire Asian territory to the easternmost regions of mountain China.
Basically, birds lead a sedentary lifestyle, but certain types of vultures in the winter migrate widely in search of food, reaching the Japanese islands. The nutritional characteristics of birds of prey do not allow them to eat frozen meat, therefore, where the black vulture lives, the climate is warm. In winter, birds of prey move to the southern regions, where they live from October to March.
The breeding period lasts about six months, starting in January. Vultures often settle in separate pairs. Caring for the female, the male makes incredible pirouettes in the air. He carries the bride into joint flying flights and chases after each other. Choosing a girlfriend, the male arranges mating games on the ground.
Nesting places
The places where the black vulture lives and grows its offspring are quite secluded. For laying eggs, couples use hollow trees, grooves under snags, shallow caves, voids formed from inverted trees. Nesting sites can also be located in the cracks of abandoned houses, agricultural buildings, in rock cracks. Nests are built from dry branches, lining the bottom with thin branches, grass, animal hair. The diameter of the nest can reach two meters and weigh a centner. A married couple can reuse their favorite place for raising offspring.
Breeding
The female of the black vulture lays one or two large eggs, variegated with brown spots. The couple is engaged in hatching chicks together, taking turns flying away in search of food. About forty days later, chicks covered with tender fluff appear from the eggs. Babies are born completely helpless and require the vigilant attention of their parents. Vultures swallow food intended for children in large pieces, and then burp them in the nest.
Two months later, the fluff on the body of the chick changes to black plumage. After four months, the black vulture cubs become completely independent. Unfortunately, less than half of newborn chicks live to adulthood. In the zoos of the world where the black vulture lives, it is possible to significantly increase the survival rate. The maximum age of predators is fifty years.
If carrion is not nearby, then the vultures can attack young animals, pecking their eyes or kidnap little chicks from other people's nests.
Hunting
Feathered predators go hunting in the early morning. They hover for a long time in the sky, looking for prey. Vultures rise so high that they turn into a small black dot. But the sharp eye of a bird of prey is able to see everything that happens on earth. Once he finds a flock of crowing ravens, a term or kites, it immediately becomes clear that there is something to profit from here.
Having folded its wings and holding its paws, the black vulture with a stone falls down on the prey, instantly dispersing enemies from it. Competitors can rush to a successful hunter without delay, who, trying to snatch their trophy, arrange noise and a fight. Saturated birds fly off near the feast and watch their relatives. Vultures are able to eat so densely that they hardly rise into the air.
Causes of extinction
Over the past couple of decades, the number of feathered predators in the world has significantly decreased. The reason for this is a number of objective circumstances.
In the places of constant wintering, severe winters with heavy snowfall took place for several years in a row, which created difficulties in obtaining feed. In livestock farms, mass death of animals is practically not allowed. And in cases of a single case, the corpses are safely disposed of. In addition, many fur farms and farms for the breeding of small animals (minks, sables) have significantly reduced their stocks or even closed enterprises.
These circumstances immediately negatively affected the position of wintering vultures. From hunger, many birds became exhausted and lost the ability to fly. There have been cases of eating dead relatives, which is an
abnormal phenomenon. Birds settled in an urban environment became bolder and began to seek food in public landfills. Moreover, they ceased to be afraid of people, which became an additional factor increasing the mortality of valuable birds at the hands of man. To this was added the lack of control of human actions associated with hunting vultures, ruining their nests, and arranging traps with poisoned bait.
A bird of prey is listed in the Russian Red Book, as well as in Appendix II to the international CITES Convention.
If you do not stop the process of mass death of a feathered bird, then soon the person will forget about who the black vulture is, the photo of which will remain in the textbooks as a reminder of the lost population of useful birds of prey.