Swan facts

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Cygnus
Scientific Name:	Cygnus Atratus
Type:	Bird
Diet:	Omnivore
Size (L):	91cm - 150cm (36in - 60in)
Wing Span:	200cm - 350cm (79in - 138in)
Weight:	10kg - 15kg (22lbs - 33lbs)
Top Speed:	80km/h (50mph)
Life Span:	8 - 12 years
Lifestyle:	Flock
Conservation Status:	Threatened
Colour:	Black, White, Grey, Orange
Skin Type:	Feathers
Favourite Food:	Aquatic Plants
Habitat:	Large, shallow wetlands and open water
Average Clutch Size:	5
Main Prey:	Aquatic Plants, Insects, Small Fish
Predators:	Human, Wolf, Raccoon
Distinctive Features:	Large, powerful wings and webbed feet

The swan is a large aquatic bird closely related to geese and ducks. The swan is known for its fierce temperament and the swans incredibly strong wings which are said to be able to cause dangerous (sometimes fatal) injuries to any animal the swan feels threatened by.

The swan is found on both sides of the Equator across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The northern swan is generally white in colour with an orange beak and the southern swan tends to be a mixture of white and black in colour with red, orange or black beaks. The vast majority of swans, however, are found in the northern United States, Canada, and Alaska. They are commonly found on lakes and rivers.

The Australian black swan has been noted to only swim with one leg, the other being tucked above its tail. This helps the swan to change direction more smoothly when the swan is swimming on the surface of the water, should the swan spot food or even an oncoming predator.

Swans are omnivorous birds but have a very vegetarian diet. Swans eat underwater vegetation such as seaweed and aquatic plants when they are on the water and a mixture of plants, seeds and berries when they are on land. Swans also eat insects both water and land-based and the occasional small fish.

Due to their large size, swans have few natural predators in the wild. The swan's main predator is the human who hunts the swan for its meat and its feathers. Other predators of the swan include wolves, raccoons and foxes they prey both on the swan itself but also on its eggs.

Although swans do not mate for life, couples establish strong bonds between one another and can often mate for a few years. Swans build their nests on land out of twigs and leaves, and the female swan lays between 3 and 9 eggs. The baby swans (known as cygnets) hatch out of their eggs after an incubation of just over a month. The cygnets are often on the water with their mother swan within a couple of days and stay close to her for both protection and warmth. The mother swan will guard her baby swans furiously from predators or any animal that she believes is a threat.

Swans have many adaptations in order to successfully survive life on the water such as their streamline body shape, long neck and webbed feet. The wings of the swan are also very strong meaning that the swan is one of the few heavy birds that is able to fly, even if it is only a short distance.

There are around 7 different species of swan found around the world. The size, colour and behaviour a swan individual is largely dependent on its species and the area in which it lives. Swans live up to their reputation of being very beautiful birds. Their elongated, curved necks and white feathers stand out amongst the lakes they reside on. They are very large birds and can weigh up to 30 pounds, measuring anywhere from 56 – 62 inches in length.

Today swans are a threatened species of animal mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. Pollution (mainly water pollution) is also a major reason why swan populations are declining. Humans kept swans for many years for their meat, but today have more respect for the conservation of the swan and keep more sustainable animal food sources.

Swans that live on freshwater typically enjoy pondweed, stonewort, and wigeon grass. They also like eating insects and tadpoles. Swans that live on salt water also eat insects, along with sea arrow grass, salt marsh grass, eel grass, club rush, and green algae.

Many people like to feed swans at the park. It is recommended to feed them pieces of fresh bread because mold is quite poisonous to these animals. If you ever decide to feed a swan, remember to throw their food directly onto the water, and not on the nearby land. This keeps swans where they belong – in their safe, natural habitat.

Swans typically know their limits when it comes to eating and do not overeat.

Fun Facts about Swans

• Swans can sleep on either land or the water. They have the option of sleeping while standing on one leg or while floating in the water.

• After a swan has laid a set of eggs (which can take 2-3 weeks), she can sit on them for 6 weeks or longer until they hatch. Swans will hatch up to 10 eggs at one time. Baby swans are called cygnets and stay with their mother for the first 6 months of life.

• All of the mute swans in England and Wales are owned by the Queen of England.
• Despite popular belief, swans can actually fly. They are among the largest flying birds out there and need about 30 yards to become airborne.

• Believe it or not, there are actually black swans as well as white swans. Black swans are native to Australia and New Zealand. They are not typically found in North America, but due to them being bred and sold for private lakes, it is possible. Black swans have the same diet as white swans and there are no notable differences between the two except their coloring.

• Although it is true that swans are gentle and defensive animals by nature, they have their rare moments of aggression. If any intruder (such as another swan, geese, or even a human) gets too close to their nesting ground or young, they may chase them away. They may also bite – not in the typical sense considering they have no teeth, but they can still pinch the skin which can be irritable.
• Socrates thought swans sang the most beautiful songs right before they died. This is why a last performance is sometimes called a “swan song.”
• Male swans are called cobs; females are known as pens.
• A swan is the emblem of St Hugh of Lincoln.
• swan maiden in Norse and Germanic folk tales, a girl who has the power of transforming herself into a swan by means of a dress of swan's feathers or of a magic ring or chain.
• Swan of Avon a name for Shakespeare, deriving from Ben Jonson's ‘Sweet Swan of Avon!’ in his poem ‘To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author, Mr William Shakespeare’ (1623).
• swan-upping the action or practice of ‘upping’ or taking up swans and marking them with nicks on the beak in token of being owned by the crown or some corporation.
• The names given to babies are signets (cygnets)

Owls

Owls are some of the most fascinating and mysterious raptors in the world. While many people know a little bit about these birds of prey, some owl facts can surprise even the most experienced birders.

There Are Two Main Types of Owls

The vast majority of the roughly 200 species of owls are so-called true owls, which possess large heads with round faces, short tails, and muted feathers with mottled patterns. The remainder, accounting for a little over a dozen species, are barn owls, which can be distinguished by their heart-shaped faces, long legs equipped with powerful talons, and moderate size. With the exception of the common barn owl—which has a worldwide distribution—the most familiar owls, at least to residents of North America and Eurasia, are the true owls.

Most Owls Are Nocturnal Hunters

Evolution has an efficient way of relegating animals to particular niches: because other carnivorous birds (like hawks and eagles) hunt during the day, most owls have adapted to hunting at night. The dark coloration of owls makes them nearly invisible to their prey—which consists of insects, small mammals, and other birds—and their wings are structured so as to beat in almost complete silence. These adaptations, combined with their enormous eyes, makes owls some of the most efficient night hunters on the planet, wolves and coyotes not excluded.

You Can Tell a Lot About an Owl by its Pellets

Owls swallow their prey whole, without biting or chewing. Most of the unfortunate animal is digested, but the parts that can't be broken down—like bones, fur, and feathers—are regurgitated as a hard lump, called a "pellet," a few hours after the owl's meal. The details are a bit revolting, but by examining its pellets in detail, researchers can identify exactly what a given owl has been eating, and when. (Baby owls don't produce pellets, since their parents nourish them with soft, regurgitated food in the nest.)

Owls Aren't as Smart as You Think

In books, movies, and TV shows, owls are invariably depicted as extremely intelligent—but the fact is that it's virtually impossible to train an owl, while birds as diverse as parrots, hawks, and even pigeons can be taught to retrieve objects and memorize simple tasks. Basically, people think owls are smart for the same reason they think all kids who wear glasses are smart: bigger-than-usual eyes convey the impression of high intelligence. (This isn't to say that owls are especially dumb, either; you need lots of brain power to successfully hunt at night.)

Owls May Have Coexisted With Dinosaurs

It has proven especially difficult to trace the evolutionary origins of owls, much less their apparent kinship with contemporary nightjars, falcons and eagles. We do know that owl-like birds like Berruornis and Ogygoptynx lived 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene epoch, which means it's entirely possible that the ultimate ancestors of owls coexisted with dinosaurs toward the end of the Cretaceous period. Technically speaking, owls are one of the most ancient groups of terrestrial birds, rivaled only by the gamebirds (i.e., chickens, turkeys and pheasants) of the order Galliformes.

Owls Don't Make Very Good Pets

Leaving aside the fact that it's illegal, in the U.S. and most other countries, for private individuals to keep owls as pets, there are any number of reasons why this isn't a good idea. For one thing, owls will only eat fresh food, meaning you have to maintain a constant supply of mice, gerbils, rabbits, and other small mammals; for another, the beaks and talons of owls are very sharp, so you'll also have to keep a ready stock of band-aids; and as if all that weren't enough, an owl can live for more than 30 years, so you'll be donning your industrial-strength gloves and flinging gerbils into its cage well into late middle age.

Owls Have Had an Outsized Impact on Human Culture

Ancient civilizations had widely divergent opinions about owls. The Greeks chose owls to represent Athena, the goddess of wisdom, but Romans were terrified of this bird, considering it a bearer of ill omens. The Aztecs and Mayans hated and feared owls as symbols of death and destruction, while many Native American tribes (including Apaches and Seminoles) scared their children with stories of owls waiting in the dark to carry them away. The Egyptians, who preceded all of these civilizations, had a kinder view of owls, believing that these birds protected the spirits of the dead as they traveled to the underworld.

While the stereotype of the “wise owl” is well established, owls can be regarded as demonic symbols or harbingers of doom. Connections to witchcraft are often made as well. Owls have also risen to prominence as icons in popular culture, such as the famous Hedwig, the snowy owl featured in the Harry Potter series.

Apart from cultural significance, owls have been used by humans in the sport of falconry. Falconer’s owls may be trained to the glove and sent off in pursuit of a wide range of quarry, such as rabbits. Generally, owls are catlike birds—nocturnal and hard to train. While some of the larger owls distinguished themselves as hunting companions in Europe, their employment as falconry decoys is more common. Hated and harassed by hawks, an owl would be tethered to a perch to lure in its enemy for capture.

Weird Relatives

Owls are often referred to as “birds of prey,” but these nocturnal hunting birds share no relation to hawks, eagles, or falcons, which are known as diurnal birds of prey. Taxonomy is a controversial and changing science, but both the Sibly-Alquist model of bird classification and alternative methods identify owls as ranking closer to kingfishers, hummingbirds, and even songbirds (like sparrows) than to hawks. Hawks and other diurnal birds of prey are relegated to the more primitive reaches of avian origins, near the cranes, herons, and other prehistoric-looking birds.

Despite appearing hawklike, owls are kissing cousins of the humble nightjars, also known as “goatsuckers.” Similarities between hawks and diurnal birds of prey are apparent, especially when an owl’s feathers are parted, revealing a large, hawklike bill, but convergent evolution is the agent of cause—not relation. Nocturnal and diurnal predatory bird orders fill similar ecological niches but avoid competition by hunting within their opposite “hours of operation.”

Some Eat Plants

Owls are among the purest of carnivores in the bird world. Occupying a fraction of the world’s species total, these night hunters won’t stoop to scavenging in most cases. However, one species is rather unique in its conquest of the night. In a freak occurrence among birds, the elf owl not only feeds on small animal prey, but adds fruits and seed parts to its diet. These owls engage in a sort of “cultivation” where they spread dung around their nest sites in a bid to attract dung beetles. These enterprising “birds of prey” seem to favor prickly pear berries and the fruits of the tasajillo cactus for the not-so-predatory portion of their diet.

Many Owls Don’t Hoot Or Screech

Owls are stereotyped for their hooting calls, but a number of species don’t hoot at all. Snowy owls of the far north produce seabird-like squeaking calls that are a far cry from a typical owl call. Small owls, such as pygmy owls make dull whistling sounds. The most flagrant example is the screech owl. It doesn’t screech at all, but gives a “bouncing” series of rapid, whistling toots. The unearthly screeching calls of juvenile great horned owls often lead to false reports of a screech owl being heard.

They Live In Cacti

In North America’s Sonoran Desert, saguaro cacti can grow over 10 meters (about 30 ft) in height and form entire forests. The excavations of specially adapted woodpeckers known as gila flickers are used as nesting sites by elf owls, which peer out from the cactus with bright, yellow eyes.

The cactus forests are also inhabited by another small owl, the ferruginous pygmy owl. This far more aggressive, bird-eating owl is slightly larger and will also nest in saguaro and organ pipe cacti. Continuing the theme, huge great horned owls often nest in the crotch of such a cactus.

1. There are more than 150 species of owls in the world, and some counts indicate more than 220 species depending on how different owls are classified. The greatest owl diversity is found in Asia, and only 19 owl species are found in the United States and Canada.
2. Owls are found in all different habitats and there are different owl species found on all continents except Antarctica. The greatest diversity of owl species is found in forested habitats, but these birds can be found anywhere prey is abundant, including urban and suburban areas.
3. All owls have upright posture and forward-facing eyes that give them binocular vision, just like humans. Owls' eyes are not spheres, however, but are tubes that provide better depth perception and allow them to see prey from great distances. Up close an owl's vision is not as clear.
4. Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are different sizes and different heights on their heads. This gives the birds superior hearing and the ability to pinpoint where prey is located, even if they can't see it.
5. Several owls species have ear tufts on their heads but they aren't ears at all. These tufts of feathers may indicate the bird's mood, help keep it camouflaged by mimicking branches or leaves, or be used to show aggression or dominance.
6. The flattened facial disk of an owl funnels sound to the bird's ears and magnifies it as much as ten times to help the owl hear noises humans can't detect. Different owls have different facial disk shapes, and that shape can be useful for identifying owls.
7. An owl's eyes are supported by bony eye sockets and they cannot turn their eyes. Instead, owls rotate their heads up to 270 degrees (135 degrees to either side), but they cannot turn their heads all the way around.
8. An owl has three eyelids: one for blinking, one for sleeping, and one for keeping the eye clean and healthy. The third eyelid is also called the nictitating membrane, and many other birds also have it, including other raptors as well as many ducks, anhingas, and dippers.
9. A barn owl can eat up to 1,000 mice each year, usually swallowing them whole. Many farmers use barn owl boxes and other tricks try to attract barn owls to help control rodent populations in agricultural fields.
10. Owls are carnivorous and will eat rodents, small or medium sized mammals, nocturnal insects, fish, and other birds, including smaller owls. After digesting their food, owls regurgitate hard pellets of compressed bones, fur, teeth, feathers, and other materials they couldn't digest. Ornithologists study those pellets to learn more about an owl's diet.
11. Owls have zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward, and all their toes have sharp talons. This gives the birds a stronger, more powerful grip so they can be more effective predators. As befitting birds that hunt and kill small, skittering prey, owls are equipped with some of the strongest talons in the avian kingdom, capable of seizing and grasping squirrels, rabbits, and other squirmy mammals. One of the largest owl species, the five-pound great horned owl, can curl its talons with a force of about 300 pounds per square inch, roughly comparable to the strongest human bite. Some unusually large owls have talons comparable in size to much bigger eagles, which may explain why even desperately hungry eagles usually won't attack their smaller, big-eyed cousins.
12. Owls have specialized feathers with fringes of varying softness that help muffle sound when they fly. Their broad wings and light bodies also make them nearly silent fliers, which helps them stalk prey more easily.
13. For most owl species, females are larger, heavier, and more aggressive than males. If the birds are dimorphic, the female is often more richly colored than the male. No one is quite sure why, on average, female owls tend to be slightly larger than their male counterparts. One theory is that smaller males are more agile, and therefore more suited to catching prey while the females brood young; another is that, because females don't like to leave their eggs, they need a larger body mass to sustain themselves for long periods of time without eating. A third theory is less likely, but more amusing: since female owls often attack and drive off unsuitable males during mating season, the smaller size and greater agility of males prevent them from getting hurt.
14. Not all owls hoot, and owls can make a wide range of other sounds, such as screeches, whistles, barks, growls, rattles, and hisses. During the nesting season, owl calls can often be heard up to a mile away. Female owls generally have higher-pitched voices than their mates.
15. Not all owl species are nocturnal. How often an owl is seen during the day depends on the seasonal amount of daylight and darkness, food supplies, and habitat. In times of stress or when food is low, owls may hunt at any time, just to get enough food.
16. Most owls do not migrate but they can be nomadic in searching for the best food sources. Some species, such as the snowy owl, have regular irruptions and will sometimes appear unexpectedly far outside their regular range.
17. A group of owls is called a parliament, wisdom, bazaar, or study. Baby owls are called owlets.
18. Owls have been found in the fossil record up to 58 million years ago. The largest recorded owl fossil, Orinmegalonyx oteroi, stood about three feet tall.
19. Owls have long been cultural symbols and they have been found in cave paintings in France, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and even in Mayan art. Today, owl superstitions and legends associate the birds with bad luck, death, and stealing souls in many cultures.
20. The biggest modern threats to owls are habitat loss, pesticides that poison the birds and their food supplies, and human persecution because of negative superstitions. Vehicle collisions, wire fences, and even well-meaning birders can also be hazardous to owls.
21. Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. When located at different heights on the owl’s head, their ears are able to pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions. Ready, aim, strike.
22. A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from C.S. Lewis’ description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
23. Owls hunt other owls. Great Horned Owls are the top predator of the smaller Barred Owl.
24. The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5 - 6 inches tall and weighs about 1 ½ ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall.
25. The Northern Hawk Owl can detect—primarily by sight—a vole to eat up to a half a mile away.
26. In fat years when mice are plentiful, usually monogamous Boreal Owls are apt to be promiscuous. Because easy prey means less work for parents feeding their young, males have been caught mating with up to three females, while females have been seen with at least one beau on the side.
27. Barn Owls swallow their prey whole—skin, bones, and all—and they eat up to 1,000 mice each year.
28. Northern Saw-whet Owls can travel long distances over large bodies of water. One showed up 70 miles from shore near Montauk, New York.

Vultures

Fast Facts

1. Vultures are incredibly diverse with over 20 species found across the world.
2. Vultures are found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
3. Vultures only lay one egg every year or so.
4. A vulture can eat up to 1 kilogram (about 2 pounds) in a single meal (that’s over 10% of their body weight).
5. The highest flying bird is the Ruppell’s vulture; one was injested by a jet at 37,000 feet.
6. Nearly all vultures in India have died due to eating corpses of animals recently treated with the drug diclofenac. In a butterfly effect, there is now a major rabies problem, with an annual cost of US$26 billion per year.
7. Vultures can’t sweat, so they pee on their legs to cool off.
8. A single living vulture is valued at $11,000 based on the ecosystem services they provide by ridding the environment of carcasses that would otherwise spread diseases and cause economic consequences.
9. The reason Kevin Carter waited 20 minutes before taking his controversial Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the starving Sudanese child is that he was waiting for the vulture to spread its wings. It didn’t in the end, so he took the photo and moved on.
10. In Asia, some vultures are almost extinct and have declined by 99% in just 15 years.
11. Vultures have huge ranges with a single individual using all of Kenya, northern Tanzania, and even going into Ethiopia and Sudan.
12. All vultures eat carrion or dead animals for at least part of their diet.
13. Vultures consume up to 70% of all the available meat in East Africa.
14. In ancient Egypt, vultures were used as a symbol of femininity.
15. Some cultures use vultures to dispose of human corpses, leaving bodies out on pillars to be fed upon by the vultures.
16. Vultures and Condors are not actually closely related, but superficially similar only due to convergent evolution.
17. In Germany, police have trained turkey vultures to help them finding missing people.
18. Because many species of vultures are social, vultures are highly effected by poisoning and environmental contaminants and over a hundred birds can be killed at just one poisoned carcass.
19. In many countries, people have set up vulture restaurants or feeding sites where carcasses can be left out for vultures. These restaurants help to ensure that vultures have enough food and can help them to avoid contaminated carcasses. In South Africa these are even visited by tourists who enjoy watching the vultures feed.
20. Vultures are the ultimate recyclers – able to strip a carcass in just a few hours, they keep our environment clean and disease free.
21. Turkey vultures have the best smell of nearly any animal but African vultures rely solely on eyesight to find carrion.
22. Egyptian vultures eat ostrich eggs and actually use rocks or sticks to crack their thick shells.
23. There are 23 vulture species in the world, and at least one type of vulture is found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. These are relatively adaptable birds found in a range of habitats, including suburbs, but even with that adaptability, 14 species are considered either threatened or endangered.
24. Vulture species are divided into New World (the Americas and Caribbean) and Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) groups depending on their ranges. There are more vulture species in the Old World, and they are not closely related to New World vultures. The two groups are often considered together, however, because they fill a similar ecological niche. New World vultures may be more closely related to storks than to other raptors.
25. Unlike many raptors, vultures are relatively social and often feed, fly or roost in large flocks. A group of vultures is called a committee, venue or volt. In flight, a flock of vultures is a kettle, and when the birds are feeding together at a carcass, the group is called a wake.
26. Vultures are carnivorous and eat carrion almost exclusively. They prefer fresh meat but are able to consume carcasses that may have rotted so much that the meat can be toxic to other animals. This gives vultures a unique and important ecological role because they help prevent the spread of diseases from old, rotting corpses.
27. Vultures have excellent senses of sight and smell to help them locate food, and they can find a dead animal from a mile or more away. Because of this, vultures often have large territories and spend a lot of time soaring to locate their next meal. Vultures eat as much as they can at one meal. They never know when the next meal will come.
28. It is a myth that vultures circle dying animals waiting to feed. These birds are powerful fliers and soar on thermals while they look for food, but they cannot sense when an animal is dying. When they locate a carcass by smell, sight or the sound of other birds feeding, they approach it quickly before other predators find it.
29. Vultures have bare heads and often bare necks so that when they feed on rotting carcasses, bacteria and other parasites cannot burrow into their feathers to cause infections. This allows the birds to stay healthier while feeding on material that would easily infect other animals.
30. Vultures have relatively weak legs and feet with blunt talons, though they do have powerful bills. If a carcass is too stiff for them to rip open, they will wait for another predator to open the flesh before they feed. This is why vultures are often seen with other carrion-eating animals.
31. A vulture’s stomach acid is significantly stronger and more corrosive than that of other animals or birds. This allows these scavengers to feed on rotting carcasses that may be infected with dangerous bacteria, because the acid will kill that bacteria so it does not threaten the vulture.
32. While vultures eat mostly dead animals, they are capable of attacking and will often prey on extremely sick, wounded or infirm prey. This is more common if food has been scarce and there are no carcasses nearby.
33. It is a myth that vultures prey on healthy livestock, but they are still regularly persecuted by farmers and ranchers who believe the birds to be a threat to their animals. They may, however, prey on dead livestock and afterbirth or stillborn animals in breeding herds, though these incidents are rare.
34. Because vultures have weak feet and legs, they do not carry prey back to their chicks. Instead, they will gorge at a carcass and regurgitate food from their crop to feed their young.
35. Vultures urinate on their legs and feet to cool off on hot days, a process called urohydrosis. Their urine also helps kill any bacteria or parasites they’ve picked up from walking through carcasses or perching on dead animals.
36. The Andean condor, found in South America, has the largest wingspan of any vulture in the world, with a spread of 10-11 feet when the bird extends its wings.
37. The crow-sized hooded vulture is the smallest of these birds with a wingspan of only five feet. It is found sub-Saharan Africa.
38. When threatened, vultures vomit to lighten their body weight so they can escape more easily into flight. Vomiting also serves as a defense mechanism to deter predators that may be threatening the birds.
39. New World vultures lack a syrinx and are nearly silent. They do not have songs, and their typical vocalizations are limited to grunts, hisses, bill clacks and similar sounds that don't require complex vocal cords.
40. Vultures face many threats that are endangering their populations. Poisoning is the biggest threat to vultures, primarily from toxins or lead in the carcasses they eat. Other hazards include car collisions as they feed on road kill and electrocution from collisions with power lines.
41. Scientists have begun to study vultures’ unique senses and abilities and are considering using the birds to help find bodies from crimes. Studying how a vulture finds a body and how quickly it can consume the body can be useful for forensic analysis.
42. Vultures enjoy their own holiday, International Vulture Awareness Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday of each September. Hundreds of zoos, aviaries, nature preserves and bird refuges worldwide participate each year with fun and informational activities about vultures to help everyone learn just how interesting and valuable these birds are.
43. Black Vultures are “family-oriented” birds – they feed their young for up to eight months after their young have fledged and often stay together in family groups.
44. Black Vultures have black plumage, bare black heads, and white patches under their primary feathers.
45. Mature Turkey Vultures have dark plumage and featherless red heads; the undersides of the flight feathers are paler. An immature Turkey Vulture’s head is dark gray.
46. When trying to identify a Black Vulture from a Turkey Vulture while on the wing (in flight), one may do so by looking at the underside of the bird’s wings. A Turkey Vulture’s wings will be largely silvery-white underneath, while the Black Vulture only has small patches of white at the tip.
47. Unlike most bird species, Turkey Vultures rely on their sense of smell to find prey. Black Vultures rely on sight.

Who’s who at the carcass?

East Africa has one of the most diverse scavenging communities of any ecosystem due to the high availability of carcasses or dead animals. Believe it or not, it is actually scavengers – not predators – that eat the majority of meat available in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem (up to 70% of all carrion). By consuming dead animals, scavengers play a key role in the environment by preventing disease outbreaks and recycling nutrients. Below you will find descriptions of some of the important scavengers of East Africa.

Did you know?

Globally vultures are the most endangered group of birds. In Masai Mara, vultures have declined by almost 50% mainly due to poisoning (people put poison on carcasses to kill predators, who have eaten their livestock; unfortunately these poisoning events have killed many vultures). – Vultures have to travel huge distances to find food and can travel over 150 km (100 mi) in a day at speeds greater than 100 km/hr (60 mph). – When you get to a carcass with a lot of animals around, it is difficult to know who found it first. While you might think the vultures are stealing a tasty meal from the predators, it often works the other way around. Because of their high flight, eagles and vultures usually find carcasses first and are then followed in by mammalian scavengers. In fact, vultures get very little of their diet from predator kills and are mainly feeding off animals that have died of disease or hunger.

Question: How do vultures eat their prey?

Answer: Vultures have sharp hooked beaks and talons. They can also use tools. Vultures sometimes drop eggs to break them or hit them against rocks.

Question: Why are vultures a symbol of death?

Answer: Vultures often appear when an animal is dying or dead. Egyptians and Native Americans used vultures in burial ceremonies.

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Accipitriformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	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:	Endangered
Colour:	Black, White, Grey, Tan, Brown
Skin Type:	Feathers
Favourite Food:	Rats
Habitat:	Deserts, savannah and grassland near water
Average Clutch Size:	2
Main Prey:	Rats, Small and large animal carcasses
Predators:	Hawks, Snakes, Wild cats
Distinctive Features:	Large wings and sharp, curved beak

Turkey Vulture Facts

Anatomy

• Turkey vultures generally grow up to 25.2–31.9 in (64–81 cm) in length with the weight measuring up to 1.9–4.4 lb (0.85–2 kg).
• They are one of the largest birds of North America. The wingspan measures about 160–183 cm (63–72 in).
• Turkey vultures living in Florida are apt to be heavier than those found in Venezuela.
• Females are only slightly larger than the males but they both appear to be of the same size.
• The adult turkey vulture is covered with blackish down with brown underparts.
• Adult vultures are recognized by their red head and neck with no hair. They have a white beak. Young birds however show black head and beak.
• Turkey vultures have a greater wingspan in comparison to the black vultures.
• Unlike eagles, turkey vultures got talons on their toes that are not adapted to holding a prey. The naked legs of vultures may only allow the bird to roost at a high perch.
• While California condors lack sense of smell turkey vultures seem to rely on smelling sense and their remarkable eyesight.

Range & Habitat

• Turkey vultures are most likely to breed in the southern Canada, Mexico, to as far as Tierra del Fuego as well as Falkland and Caribbean Islands.
• They are thought to occupy a wide variety of habitats ranging from forests and deserts to the high plateaus of the Andes.
• Turkey vultures typically do not migrate but those living on the Andes are likely to go down to the lower habitats in winter. Similarly some of the subspecies that are found in the western United States will move to the south.
• It spends summer on the Long Island, Hudson Valley.
• They also make homes in scrublands, subtropical forests, foothills, open country, grasslands, and wetlands.

Behaviour

• Turkey vultures are outstanding fliers as they love to glide for miles without even a single flap. The speed at which they travel is 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).
• They will roost high up in the dead trees sometimes alone while mostly in groups. Turkey vultures may very well stay on perch all day long particularly in rain.
• When the day breaks, turkey vultures break away from their communal groups to forage alone.
• They are known to nest in caves but they never go inside except for mating.
• Predators of turkey vultures are great horned owls, golden eagles, bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks. Opossums, foxes and raccoons prey on turkey vulture’s eggs.
• While turkey vultures are excellent in the air, they have a rather clumsy walk on land. It seems hard for an adult vulture to fly from the land because the bird needs a great deal of energy to push it off the ground.
• They will make sounds such as hisses, whines and grunts.

Feeding Ecology & Diet

• Turkey vultures are dominant scavengers of North America as they primarily feed on animals dead or alive. They may like to eat carrion which is in the initial stages of decomposition.
• They have fairly small beak and as such they prefer carrion which is already tore apart by other animals. The vulture’s bill is not powerful enough to penetrate the hard skin of carrion. However the hook of the bill is sharp enough to remove the flesh off the carcass.
• While they rely on carcasses, turkey vultures also eat small mammals including mice. The turkey vulture’s diet also consists of seabirds and herons.
• With its bare head and neck, the turkey vulture may probe deep into the carcass.
• Turkey vultures also consume fruits, plant matter, coconut, pumpkin, and shoreline vegetation. They are often seen feeding on roadside kills mostly domestic dogs and cats. They have a varied as they also catch insects or fish in shallow water.
• Unlike most other vultures, turkey vultures get to the food by the strong sense of smell. Thanks to the olfactory organs that allows the bird to smell carrion below the forest canopy.

Reproductive Biology

• Turkey vultures typically nest on rocky cliffs but they also nest in bottomland hardwoods or forests. The nesting sites also include brush pile, rock crevice, cave, hollow tree, vine tangle, and in some old buildings.
• The eastern population seems to have shifted their nesting sites from cavities to thickets.
• In the southern United States, the breeding season occurs from May to April or June but the northern population breeds in August.
• They begin to breed 1 – 2 years age with the breeding interval of 1 year.
• The clutch size is 1 – 2 eggs but a female also lays up to 3 cream-colored eggs.
• Both parents share the incubation.
• Eggs hatch in about 4 – 6 weeks. Both parents feed the chicks for about 70 – 77 days.
• When threatened, chicks may defend by hissing.
• Young vultures fledge in about 63 – 70 days.