We’ve all seen vultures soaring in the skies. Below are some fascinating vulture verities
1. Vultures in Georgia - There are two types of vultures that call the peach state home: turkey vultures and black vultures.
2. Benefits of baldness - Did you ever wonder why vultures are ‘bald’? It’s simply a matter of hygiene; feathers would catch and breed bacteria that the bird would pick up while poking its head around inside a dead carcass.
3. Sterilization by defecation – Vultures will frequently go to the bathroom on their feet. No, they don’t forget to step out of the way, they do it on purpose. Bird waste contains high amounts of ammonia. Just as we humans use ammonia to sterilize and clean, vultures use the ammonia their own bodies produce to kill bacteria that they picked up while wading around in decaying meat.
4. Soaring is sensational – Vultures are masters at using thermals (rising currents of warm air) to get around. They spread out their wide wings and soar on these updrafts to cover large areas in search of their food. Because vultures are so well equipped for soaring, they are weak flyers, which is why you won’t find a vulture over the middle of a large body of water. Turkey vultures soar with wings slightly higher than their bodies in a dihedral or ‘V’ formation; just remember that “V is for vulture”.
5. Vultures are valuable – Vultures perform a valuable service by cleaning up the environment. By consumption they dispose of dead animals, which helps prevent the spread of bacteria and diseases.
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