Vulture 32557 224767836 2008-07-10T09:44:51Z Senator Palpatine 7357381 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/212.50.168.126|212.50.168.126]] to last version by Aleenf1 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{otheruses}} {{Taxobox | name = '''Vultures''' | image = Eagle beak sideview A.jpg | image_caption = [[Griffon Vulture|Griffon vulture]], ''Gyps fulvus'' | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Bird|Aves]] | subdivision_ranks = Orders | subdivision = [[Falconiformes]] (Fam. [[Accipitridae]] (part))<br> [[Ciconiiformes]] (Fam. [[Cathartidae]]) }} [[Image:Vulture 19o05.jpg|right|240px|thumb|Griffon Vulture soaring]] [[Image:Wiki vulture2.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Some members of both the old and new world vultures have an unfeathered neck and head, shown as radiating heat in this thermographic image.]] '''Vultures''' are [[scavenger|scavenging]] [[bird]]s, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead [[animal]]s. Vultures are found on every continent except [[Antarctica]] and [[Oceania]]. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald [[head (anatomy)|head]], devoid of [[feather]]s. This is likely because a feathered head would become spattered with [[blood]] and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} A group of vultures is occasionally called a ''venue'', and when circling in the air a group of vultures is called a ''[[kettle (birds)|kettle]]''. The word ''[[Geier]]'' (taken from the [[German language]]) does not have a precise meaning in [[ornithology]], and it is occasionally used to refer to a vulture in English, as in some poetry. ==Classification== Vultures are classified into two groups: Old World vultures and New World vultures. The similarities between the two different groups are due to [[convergent evolution]]. ===Old World vultures=== {{main|Old World vulture}} The [[Old World vulture]]s found in [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Europe]] belong to the family [[Accipitridae]], which also includes [[eagle]]s, [[kite (bird)|kites]], [[buzzard]]s, and [[hawk]]s. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. ===New World vultures=== {{main|New World vulture}} The [[New World vulture]]s and [[condor]]s found in warm and temperate areas of the [[Americas]] are not closely related to the superficially similar Accipitridae, but belong in the family [[Cathartidae]], which is quite close to the [[storks]]. Several species have a good sense of smell, unusual for [[Bird of prey|raptor]]s, and are able to smell the dead they focus upon from great heights. == Feeding == [[Image:Vulture11.jpg|thumb|250px|Vulture, getting ready to strike.]] [[Image:White-backed vultures eating a dead wildebeest.JPG|thumb|left|240px|A group of [[White-backed Vulture]]s eating the carcass of a [[Wildebeest]].]] Vultures seldom attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, till their [[crop (anatomy)|crop]] bulges, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws, but disgorge it from the crop. These birds are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. [[Botulinum toxin]], the toxin that causes [[botulism]], does not affect them, and they can eat rotten flesh containing [[anthrax]] and [[cholera]] bacteria.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lairweb.org.nz/vulture/turkey.html |title = Turkey Vulture}}</ref> When a vulture's dinner has too thick of hide for his beak to open, he waits for a larger scavenger to eat first.<ref>[http://www.webvulture.com/vulture-facts.html Vulture Facts and more at WebVulture.com, your Online Vulture Resource<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> == Threat due to diclofenac poisoning == [[Diclofenac#Ecological problems|Diclofenac]] poisoning has caused the vulture population in [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] to decline by up to 95% in the past decade, and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction.<ref name = "painkillers 2006"/> This has been caused by the practice of medicating working farm animals with diclofenac, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ([[NSAID]]) with anti-inflammatory and pain killing actions. Diclofenac administration keeps animals that are ill or in pain working on the land for longer, but, if the ill animals die, their carcasses contain diclofenac. Farmers leave the dead animals out in the open, relying on vultures to tidy up. Diclofenac present in carcass flesh is eaten by vultures, which are sensitive to diclofenac, and they suffer kidney failure, [[visceral gout]], and death as a result of diclofenac [[poison]]ing. The decline in vultures has led to hygiene problems in India as carcasses of dead animals now tend to rot, or be eaten by rats or wild dogs, rather than be tidied up by vultures. [[Rabies]] among these other scavengers is a major health threat. India has one of the world's highest incidences of rabies.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2244672 | title = Rabies risk among travelers |journal = [[CMAJ]] |date = 2008-26-2 | pmid = 18299544 | doi = 10.1503/cmaj.071443 | author = Di Quinzio, M. | volume = 178 | pages = 567}}</ref> The decline in vultures causes particular problems for certain communities, such as the [[Parsi]], who practice [[sky burial]]s, where the human dead are put on the top of [[Towers of Silence]] and are eaten by vultures, leaving only dry bones. [[Meloxicam]] (another NSAID) has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to diclofenac.<ref name = "painkillers 2006"/> The Government of India banned diclofenac, but over a year later, in 2007, it continued to be sold and is still a problem in other parts of the world.<ref name = "painkillers 2006">{{cite journal |url =http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19225774.300&feedId=online-news_rss20 |title = Painkillers turned bird killers |journal = [[New Scientist]] |date = 2006-11-14 |issue = 2577 |pages = p7}}</ref> == In culture == === Ancient Egypt === In Southern Africa, the name for a [[Lappet-faced vulture|Nubian vulture]] is synonymous with the term applied to [[love]]rs, because these vultures are always seen in pairs, mother and child remaining closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, and loving are essential attributes associated along with the vulture's size and its ability to soar high in the sky. The [[Egypt]]ians considered the vulture to be an excellent mother, and the wide wingspan was seen as all-encompassing and providing a protective cover to her infants. The white [[Egyptian vulture]] was the animal picked to represent [[Nekhbet]], the mother goddess and protective patron of southern, Upper Egypt. The vulture [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyph]] <hiero>A</hiero> was the [[Egyptian uniliteral signs|uniliteral sign]] used for the glottal sound (''3'') including words such as ''mother'', ''prosperous'', ''grandmother'', and ''ruler'' ===Contemporary concepts=== Although the vulture plays an important natural role, in the Western world, the image of the vulture is quite negative, with 'vulture' used as a [[metaphor]] for those who prey on the weak or dying, with associated negative connotations of cowardice and selfishness. ==References== {{reflist}} * Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead and Burton ''Raptors of the World'' ISBN 0713680261 * Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ''Birds of India'' ISBN 0-691-04910-6 * Hilty, '' Birds of Venezuela'', ISBN 0-7136-6418-5 * Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'' (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1 * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4670736.stm NSAID effects on vultures (BBC website)] * "India's Vultures Fall Prey to a Drug in the Cattle They Feed On", New York Times, Amelia Gentleman, March 28, 2006. ==External links== *[http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=30 Vulture videos] on the Internet Bird Collection *[http://www.wildsaurashtra.com www.wildsaurashtra.com, videos, photographs and resources on Indian birds]Indian bird resources * http://www.vulture.org.yu/ [[Category:Birds of prey]] [[Category:Heraldic birds]] [[Category:Scavengers]] [[am:አሞራ]] [[ast:Utre]] [[bg:Лешояд]] [[ca:Voltor]] [[da:Grib (fugl)]] [[de:Altweltgeier]] [[es:Buitre]] [[fr:Vautour (oiseau)]] [[id:Hering]] [[io:Vulturo]] [[kl:Nattoraliusaq]] [[sw:Tumbusi]] [[la:Vultur]] [[hu:Keselyű]] [[ja:ハゲワシ]][[mr:गिधाड]] [[no:Gribb (fugl)]] [[pl:Sępy]] [[pt:Abutre]] [[simple:Vulture]] [[fi:Korppikotkat]] [[sv:Gamar]] [[vi:Kền kền]] [[tr:Akbaba (kuş)]] [[zh-yue:禿鷲]] [[zh:禿鷲]]