vultures ppt

1. Birds Of Prey
Vultures

2. Ruppels Griffon
Vulture
Physical DescriptionMales
and females feature
similar coloration—brown
or black overall, with a
white underbelly, thin
fluff covering the head
and neck and a white
collar. Eyes are normally
amber to yellow in color.
They have exceptionally
powerful, pale beaks.
SizeRüppell's griffon
vultures are large African
vultures, growing
between 33 to 38 inches (84
to 97 centimeters) in
height, with an 8-foot (2.5
meter) wingspan.

3. Native HabitatPopulating the Sahel region of Africa,
Rüppell's griffon vultures range from Senegal,
Gambia and Mali in the west, to Sudan, South Sudan
and Ethiopia in the east. They can also be found
through the savanna in Kenya, Tanzania and
Mozambique. Breeding often requires a cliff face,
and as such, Rüppell's griffon vultures reside near
mountainous regions, but will also travel through
woodlands and grasslands in order to find food.
CommunicationSharing a carcass can often result in
fights between vultures, with grunting, hissing,
stomping and a coloration change of the neck to a
deep red used to show dominance and ward off
fellow scavengers

4. Food/Eating HabitsThis species will spend
much of its time soaring through the skies
at great altitudes searching for food,
sometimes staying in the air for six to
seven hours each day. They use slow,
powerful wing beats or rely on strong
winds to conserve energy and soar.
A notorious scavenger, Rüppell's griffon
vultures dine exclusively on carrion. They
rely on vision alone to detect prey. When
the vulture spots a carcass from the air,
the vulture will swoop down nearby and
run with its wings spread and neck
extended towards its meal. Rüppell's
griffon vultures insert their heads under
the skin of the carcass, sometimes
climbing inside the ribcage to consume it.
The head and neck are devoid of most
feathers, evolved to keep the mess of
blood and meat to a minimum.

5. As scavengers, Rüppell's griffon vultures
have the added adaptation of being able
to consume rotten meat, even if it
contains anthrax, botulism and cholera.
Bacteria are then destroyed in the
vulture's stomach. A large meal can last at
least four days for these vultures.
Contrary to popular belief, Rüppell's
griffon vultures do not rely on the already-
killed prey of larger predators for the bulk
of their food source. While they will
consume lion leftovers if found, much of
what they eat has not been preyed upon,
but is a result of old age, disease, broken-
limbed animals or still-born young.
At the Smithsonian's National Zoo,
Rüppell's griffon vultures are fed rabbits,
rats, Nebraska Brand Feline
Diet (carnivore diet made with beef) and
femur bones. Small pieces of beef may be
offered during training sessions.

6. Black Vulture
Has expanded range
northward in the
northeast, but has
declined in parts of
southeast. Loss of
good nest sites (in
large tree hollows)
may be one cause.

7. Open country; avoids higher
mountains. Mostly found in flat
lowlands, such as coastal plain.
Forages over open country, but
typically roosts and nests in forest,
so is scarce in open plains. In Latin
America, often common around
cities and towns. Less likely than
Turkey Vulture to fly over open
water, so absent on many islands
(such as Florida Keys).

8. Abundant in the southeast, scarce
in the southwest is this broad-
winged scavenger. In low flight, it
proceeds with several quick flaps
followed by a flat-winged glide;
when rising thermals provide good
lift, it soars very high above the
ground. Usually seen in flocks.
Shorter wings and tail make it
appear smaller than Turkey
Vulture, but looks are deceptive:
body size is about the same, and
aggressive Black Vultures often
drive Turkey Vultures away from
food.

9. Bearded vulture
The bearded
vulture (Gypaetus barbatus),
also known as
the lammergeier[a] or ossifrag
e, is a bird of prey and the
only member of the
genus Gypaetus. Traditionally
considered an Old World
vulture, it actually forms a
minor lineage
of Accipitridae together with
the Egyptian
vulture (Neophron
percnopterus), its closest
living relative. It is not much
more closely related to the
Old World vultures

10. proper than to, for example, hawks, and
differs from the former by its feathered
neck. Although dissimilar, the Egyptian
and bearded vulture each have a lozenge-
shaped tail — unusual among birds of
prey. In July 2014, the IUCN Red List has
reassessed this species to be near
threatened. Before July 2014, it was
actually classed as Least Concern. Their
population trend is decreasing.
The bearded vulture is the only known
animal whose diet is almost exclusively
bone (70-90%).[2] It lives and breeds on
crags in high mountains in
southern Europe,
the Caucasus,[3][4][5] Africa,[6] the Indian su
bcontinent, and Tibet, laying one or
two eggs in mid-winter that hatch at the
beginning of spring. Populations are
resident.

11. Turkey Vulture
Of the seven species of the
New World vultures, the
Turkey Vulture is the most
common and the most
widely distributed, ranging
from south Canada to
southern South
America. In winter this
efficient scavenger
migrates from the
northern part of its range,
where a carcass will freeze,
to the southern part of the
United States and south
into South America

12. The Turkey Vulture breeds
throughout Texas, but the winter
population is largely confined to
east of a line running from Wichita
Falls (Pulich 1988) south to Del
Rio. It might be noted, however,
that there are records for this bird
in Big Bend National Park for every
month of the year except January
(Warner 1973). Casual winter
lingerers in the west were also
noted by Oberholser (1974).

13. DISTRIBUTION: The Turkey Vulture breeds
throughout Texas, adapting to the forests
and swamplands of east Texas, the open
prairies farther west, and the high, arid
lands of the Trans-Pecos. Abundant in the
east, and common to fairly common
throughout much of the state, the species
can be scarce in the northwest and far
west quarters of the state. Oberholser
observed this pattern as did, more
recently, TBBA atlasers. The relative
dearth of observations in the western
Panhandle and the Trans-Pecos may also
be in part a reflection of limited numbers
of observers, and because of the paucity
of public lands in Texas, lack of access to
many areas. Significantly, the heavily
visited Big Bend area

14. produced no fewer than six
confirmed breeding records. In the
nineteenth century Turkey
Vultures, and the closely related
Black Vultures, were notorious
scavengers in city dumps (Sprunt
1955), but today, with modern
sanitation, they are almost entirely
absent from large metropolitan
areas except for occasional
migrating birds. They are, for
example, listed as rare in a Dallas
County checklist (Pulich 1977).

15. SEASONAL OCCURRENCE: The Turkey
Vulture, conspicuous in flight, is secretive
in its breeding habits. Nests are not often
encountered. Out of 1,549 records
obtained by the TBBA, only 79 were
confirmed records. Turkey Vultures have
a long breeding season. Oberholser
records eggs as early as February 15, and
as late as July 30. TBBA records suggest
that breeding is at its height in April and
May, with the earliest TBBA confirmed
record for eggs being March 2. At latilong
32095, D1, in east Texas a nest with two
eggs, one already pipped, was
photographed on April 18, 1990.

16. BREEDING HABITAT: The Turkey Vulture is
highly adaptable in its choice of breeding
habitat. No nest is built, although twigs or
leaf litter already present may be
used. The nest is normally on
the ground (Kirk and Mossman 1998). In
suitable terrain, caves, cliff ledges, and
rocky cavities may be exploited. In other
areas nesting occurs where dense
undergrowth is available, or where the
site is protected by swampland. In the
photograph mentioned above, the nest, a
slight indentation in the ground, was
centered in a large brush pile. Hollow logs
or stumps, and abandoned buildings also
provide protected nesting sites. Dark sites
are preferred (Harrison 1978). There is
some evidence that some sites may be
reused from year to year (Kirk and
Mossman 1998).

17. Turkey Vultures will sometimes
breed in loose aggregations with
Black Vultures (Newton
1979). Two eggs are normally laid,
a pattern confirmed by TBBA
observers. The eggs are creamy
white with highly variable spots
and blotches in shades of
brown. Incubation, by both sexes,
is 38-41 days (Brown and Amadon
1968). The young, fed by
regurgitation, are downy white
with black heads, and are tended
by both adults. They fly when 70-
80 days old. An immature can be
distinguished by its dark head and
bill.

18. STATUS: The status of the Turkey Vulture
is good. BBS records from 1966 to 1993
indicate in North America a slight increase
in the population of 0.6 percent with
some of the growth occurring because of
the species expanding its northern range
in Canada. In Texas BBS records for the
same period show a 0.0 percent change in
population (Bruce Peterjohn, BBS, pers.
comm.). Despite the absence of
confirmed breeding records by the TBBA
for large areas of Texas, the BBS
population figures over a nearly thirty
year period make it clear that Turkey
Vultures are successfully replenishing an
already healthy population.

19. That the population is stable may
result in part from Texas being on a
major flyway for migrating
raptors. Between 12 October and
12 November 1992, 3,785 Turkey
Vultures passed south through
Anzalduas County Park in the lower
Rio Grande Valley. In the spring
between 11 March and 16 April
1993 at Bentsen Rio Grande State
Park, 4,866 went north. This
number is believed to be a record
(Economidy 1994) and further
suggests that the Turkey Vulture is
doing well in Texas

20. Eygptian Vulture
The Egyptian
vulture (Neophron
percnopterus), also called
the white scavenger
vulture or pharaoh's
chicken, is a small Old
World vulture and the only
member of
the genus Neophron. It is
widely distributed;
the Egyptian vulture is
found from southwestern
Europe and northern
Africa to India

21. The contrasting underwing pattern and
wedge-shaped tail make it distinctive in
flight as it soars in thermals during the
warmer parts of the day. Egyptian vultures
feed mainly on carrion but are
opportunistic and will prey on small
mammals, birds, and reptiles. They also
feed on the eggs of other birds, breaking
larger ones by tossing a large pebble onto
them. The use of tools is rare in birds and
apart from the use of a pebble as a
hammer, Egyptian vultures also use twigs
to roll up wool for use in their nest.
Egyptian vultures that breed in
the temperate regions migrate south in
winter while tropical populations are
relatively sedentary. Populations of this
species have declined in the 20th century
and some island populations are
endangered by hunting, accidental
poisoning, and collision with power lines.

22. Cinereious Vulture
The cinereous vulture is
believed to be the largest
true bird of prey in the
world.[4] The condors, which
may be marginally larger, are
now generally considered
unrelated to the true raptors.
The Himalayan griffon
vulture (Gyps himalayensis) is
the only close extant rival to
the size of the cinereous, with
a similar average wingspan,
weight and a longer overall
length, thanks to a distinctly
longer neck.

23. The largest cinereous vultures exceed the
weight and wingspan of the largest Himalayan
griffon, and the cinereous is the larger species
going on standard measurements.[4] Females
are slightly larger than males.[5] This huge bird
measures 98–120 cm (3 ft 3 in–3 ft 11 in) long
with a 2.5–3.1 m (8 ft 2 in–10 ft 2 in) wingspan.
Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg (14 to
25 lb), whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to
14 kg (17 to 31 lb). It is thus one of the world's
heaviest flying birds.[4][5][6] Despite limited
genetic variation in the species, body size
increases from west to east, with the birds
from southwest Europe (Spain and
south France) averaging about 10% smaller
than the vultures from central Asia
(Manchuria, Mongolia and
northern China).[4] Among standard
measurements, the wing chord is 73–89 cm
(29–35 in), the tail is 33–41 cm (13–16 in) and
the tarsus is 12–14.6 cm (4.7–5.7 in).[4]

24. The cinereous vulture is distinctly dark, with
the whole body being brown excepting the
pale head in adults, which is covered in fine
blackish down. This down is absent in the
closely related lappet-faced vulture (Torgos
tracheliotos).[4][5] The skin of the head and
neck is bluish-gray and a paler whitish color
above the eye. The adult has brown eyes, a
purplish cere, a blue-gray bill and pale blue-
gray legs.[4][5] The primary quills are often
actually black.[5] From a distance, flying birds
can easily appear all black. The immature
plumage is sepia-brown above, with a much
paler underside than in adults. Immature
cinereous vultures have grey down on the
head, a pale mauve cere and grey legs.[5] The
massive bill is the largest of any
living accipiterid, a feature enhanced by the
relatively small skull of the species. The
exposed culmen of the cinereous vulture
measures 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in).[7] The wings,
with serrated leading edges, are held straight
or slightly

25. arched in flight and are broad, sometimes
referred to as "barn door wings". Their flight is
slow and buoyant, with deep, heavy flaps
when necessary. The combination of huge size
and dark coloration renders the cinereous
vulture relatively distinct, especially against
smaller raptors such as eagles or hawks. The
most similar-shaped species, the lappet-faced
vulture (with which there might be limited
range overlap in the southern Middle East), is
distinguished by its bare, pinkish head and
contrasting plumage. On the lappet-face, the
thighs and belly are whitish in adult birds
against black to brownish over the remainder
of the plumage. All potential Gyps vultures are
distinguished by having paler, often streaky
plumage, with bulging wing primaries giving
them a less evenly broad-winged
form.[4] Cinereous vultures are generally very
silent, with a few querulous mewing, roaring
or guttural cries solely between adults and
their offspring at the nest site.[5]

26. The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species.
The western limits of its range are in Spain and
inland Portugal, with a reintroduced
population in south France. They are found
discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and
throughout the central Middle East. Their
range continues
through Afghanistan eastwards to
northern India to its eastern limits in
central Asia, where they breed in
northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea.
Their range is fragmented especially
throughout their European range. It is
generally a permanent resident except in those
parts of its range where hard winters cause
limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles
when they reach breeding maturity. In the
eastern limits of its range, birds from the
northernmost reaches may migrate down to
southern Korea and China. A limited migration
has also been reported in the Middle East but
is not common.[4][8][9]

27. Andean Condor
The Andean condor (Vultur
gryphus) is a South American bird in
the New World
vulture family Cathartidae and is the
only member of the genus Vultur.
Found in the Andes mountains and
adjacent Pacific coasts of western
South America, the Andean condor
is the largest flying bird in the world
by combined measurement of
weight and wingspan. It has a
maximum wingspan of 3.3 m (10 ft
10 in)[2] exceeded only by the
wingspans of
four seabirds and water birds—the
roughly 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) maximum
of the wandering
albatross, southern royal
albatross, great white
pelican and Dalmatian pelican.

28. It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white
feathers surrounding the base of the neck
and, especially in the male, large white
patches on the wings. The head and neck
are nearly featherless, and are a dull red
color, which may flush and therefore
change color in response to the bird's
emotional state. In the male, there is a
wattle on the neck and a large, dark
red comb or caruncle on the crown of the
head. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is
larger than the female.
The condor is primarily a scavenger,
feeding on carrion. It prefers large
carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle.
It reaches sexual maturity at five or six
years of age and nests at elevations of up
to 5,000 m (16,000 ft), generally on
inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs
are usually laid. It is one of the world's
longest-living birds, with a lifespan of over
70 years in some cases.

29. The Andean condor is a national symbol
of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecu
ador, and Peru and plays an important role
in the folkloreand mythology of the Andean
regions. The Andean condor is
considered near threatened by
the IUCN.[1] It is threatened by habitat loss
and by secondary poisoning from
carcasses killed by hunters. Captive
breeding programs have been instituted in
several countries.

30. The Andean condor was described
by Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus in 1758
in the tenth edition of his Systema
Naturae and retains its
original binomial name of Vultur
gryphus.[4] The Andean condor is
sometimes called the Argentinean condor,
Bolivian condor, Chilean condor,
Colombian condor, Ecuadorian condor, or
Peruvian condor after one of the nations to
which it is native. The generic
term Vultur is directly taken from
the Latin vultur or voltur, which means
"vulture".[5] Its specific epithet is derived
from a variant of the Greek word γρυπός
(grupós, "hook-nosed").[6] The word condor
itself is derived from
the Quechua kuntur.[7][8]

31. The exact taxonomic placement of the
Andean condor and the remaining six
species of New World vultures remains
unclear.[9] Though both are similar in
appearance and have similar ecological
roles, the New World and Old World
vultures evolved from different ancestors in
different parts of the world and are not
closely related. Just how different the two
families are is currently under debate, with
some earlier authorities suggesting that the
New World vultures are more closely
related to storks.[10] More recent authorities
maintain their overall position in the
order Falconiformes along with the Old
World vultures[11] or place them in their own
order, Cathartiformes.[12] The South
American Classification Committee has
removed the New World vultures
from Ciconiiformes and instead described
them as incertae sedis, but notes that a
move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is
possible.[

32. The Andean condor is the only accepted
living species of its genus, Vultur.[13] Unlike
the California condor (Gymnogyps
californianus), which is known from
extensive fossil remains and some
additional ones of congeners, the fossil
record of the Andean condor recovered to
date is scant. Presumed Plio-
Pleistocene species of South American
condors were later recognized to be not
different from the present species,
although one known only from a few rather
small bones found in a Pliocene deposit
of Tarija Department, Bolivia, may have
been a smaller palaeosubspecies, V.
gryphus patruus.[1

33. King Vulture
The king
vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)
is a large bird found
in Central and South America.
It is a member of the New
World
vulture familyCathartidae.
This vulture lives
predominantly in tropical
lowland forests stretching
from southern Mexico to
northern Argentina. It is the
only surviving member of the
genus Sarcoramphus,
although fossil members are
known.

34. Large and predominantly white, the king
vulture has gray to black ruff, flight, and
tail feathers. The head and neck are bald,
with the skin color varying, including
yellow, orange, blue, purple, and red. The
king vulture has a very noticeable orange
fleshy caruncle on its beak. This vulture is
a scavenger and it often makes the initial
cut into a fresh carcass. It also displaces
smaller New World vulture species from a
carcass. King vultures have been known to
live for up to 30 years in captivity.
King vultures were popular figures in
the Mayan codices as well as in local
folklore and medicine. Although currently
listed as least concernby the IUCN, they
are decreasing in number, due primarily
to habitat loss.

35. The king vulture was originally described
by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth
edition of his Systema Naturae as Vultur
papa,[2] the type specimen originally
collected in Suriname.[3] It was reassigned
to the genus Sarcoramphus in 1805 by
French zoologist André Marie Constant
Duméril. The generic name is a New
Latin compound formed from
the Greek words σάρξ (sarx, "flesh", the
combining form of which is σαρκο-) and
ῥάμφος (rhamphos, "crooked beak of bird
of prey").[4] The genus name is often
misspelled as Sarcorhamphus, improperly
retaining the Greek rough
breathing despite agglutination with the
previous word-element. The bird was also
assigned to the
genus Gyparchus by Constantin Wilhelm
Lambert Gloger in 1841, but this
classification is not used in modern
literature since Sarcoramphus has priority
as the earlier name

36. The species name is derived
from Latin word papa "bishop", alluding the
bird's plumage resembling the clothing of
one.[6] The king vulture's closest living
relative is the Andean condor, Vultur
gryphus.[7] Some authors have even put
these species in a separate subfamily from
the other New World vultures, though most
authors consider this subdivision
unnecessary.[7

37. There are two theories on how the king
vulture earned the "king" part of its
common name. The first is that the name is
a reference to its habit of displacing
smaller vultures from a carcass and eating
its fill while they wait.[8] An alternative
theory reports that the name is derived
from Mayan legends, in which the bird was
a king who served as a messenger
between humans and the gods.[9] This bird
was also known as the "white crow" by
the Spanish in Paraguay.[10] It was
called cozcacuauhtli in Nahuatl, derived
from cozcatl "collar" and cuauhtli "bird of
prey

38. The exact systematic placement of the king
vulture and the remaining six species
of New World vultures remains
unclear.[12] Though both are similar in
appearance and have similar ecological
roles, the New World and Old World
vultures evolved from different ancestors in
different parts of the world. Just how
different the two are is currently under
debate, with some earlier authorities
suggesting that the New World vultures are
more closely related to storks.[13] More
recent authorities maintain their overall
position in the order Falconiformes along
with the Old World vultures[14] or place
them in their own order,
Cathartiformes.[15] The South American
Classification Committee has removed the
New World vultures
from Ciconiiformes and instead placed
them in Incertae sedis, but notes that a
move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is
possible.[12] Like other New World vultures,
the king vulture has a diploid chromosome
number of 80