To listen to this article, please select Control + Shift + Z to launch the pop-up player.

A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Images and Resources

Animals >>

Vulture

Add to Phobia Filter

Contribute

Listen

The vulture is a large, carnivorous bird that is most well known for its scavenging nature. The vulture is one of the few types of bird that is found distributed so widely around the world, as vultures are found on every continent excluding the Antarctic and Australia and the islands that surround it.

Different species of vultures of firstly classified into two groups, the old world vultures and the new world vultures. There are thought to be nearly 30 different species of vulture that are found worldwide.

The old world vultures are found in Asia, Europe and Africa with these species of vulture thought to be most closely related to eagles and hawks. The old world vulture is not thought to be closely related to the new world vulture and the old world vulture uses its spectacular sight alone in order to find food.

The new world vultures are found in the Americas and although there are definitive similarities between the old world vulture and the new world vulture, they are believed to be connected through evolutionary status rather than DNA. The new world vultures tend to be slightly smaller than the old world vultures and use both sight and their excellent sense of smell in order to find their food.

All species of vulture are similar in the sense that they scavenge for their food whenever possible rather than killing it themselves. Vultures feed on the remains of dead animals and are never too fussy about what is left. Vultures are known to strip meat, skin and even feathers, leaving only the skeleton of the animal remaining.

Although vultures are generally fairly solitary animals, groups of vultures are often seen circling prey from the sky above. This movement of the vultures is called a kettle and a group of vultures together is sometimes known as a venue.

Vultures have keen eyesight. It is believed they are able to spot a three-foot carcass from four miles away on the open plains. In some species, when an individual sees a carcass it begins to circle above it. This draws the attention of other vultures that then join in. The feces of the turkey vulture contains strong acids that kill many of the bacteria commonly associated with bird feces. Because of their diet, these birds are able to kill harmful bacteria and viruses with their stomach acids, and halt the potential spread of disease from rotting carcasses.

Vulture Comments (4)

omg

"wow i feel bad for these birds going endangered "

china

"these pour animals are going endangered"

maria

"This information helps a lot...."

Showing 3 of 4 comments.

Show More Comments

Post Comment

Article Tools

	Print Article View printer friendly version of Vulture article.
	Listen to Article Listen to audio version of Vulture article. Hot key: + +

Vulture Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Aves
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Accipitriformes
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Accipitridae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Aegypiinae

Scientific Name:	Aegypius Monachus
Type:	Bird
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (H):	64cm - 81cm (25in - 32in)
Wing Span:	130cm - 183cm (51in - 72in)
Weight:	0.85kg - 2.2kg (1.9lbs - 5lbs)
Top Speed:	48km/h (30mph)
Life Span:	20 - 30 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Endangered

Colour:	Black, White, Grey, Tan, Brown
Skin Type:	Feathers
Favourite Food:	Rats
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Deserts, savannah and grassland near water
Average Clutch Size:	2
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Rats, Small and large animal carcasses
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Hawks, Snakes, Wild cats
Distinctive Features:	Large wings and sharp, curved beak