Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Vultures are scavengers and carrion-eating raptors of two distinct biological families: the Old World vultures (Accipitridae), which occurs only in the Eastern Hemisphere; and the New World vultures (Cathartidae), which occurs only in the Western Hemisphere. Members of both groups have heads either partly or fully devoid of feathers.
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion.There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). [2] Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family.
The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is the most widespread of the New World vultures. [2] One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands ...
By their nature, vultures eat dead things — about a pound daily. That means that the roughly 40 or 50 dead birds in Fuquay-Varina were once eating a cumulative 18,000 pounds of dead animals ...
Some species of New World vulture have a good sense of smell, whereas Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. Other adaptations shared by both Old and New World vultures include a bald head , devoid of feathers which prevents rotting matter from accumulating while feeding, and an extremely disease-resistant digestive system to ...
Weight for black vultures from North America and the Andes ranges from 1.6 to 3 kg (3.5 to 6.6 lb) but in the smaller vultures of the tropical lowlands it is 1.18–1.94 kg (2.6–4.3 lb). [31] [32] 50 vultures in Texas were found to average 2.15 kg (4.7 lb) while 119 birds in Venezuela were found to average 1.64 kg (3.6 lb). [33]
The Cathartiformes / k ə ˈ θ ɑːr t ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / was a former order of scavenging birds which included the New World vultures and the now-extinct Teratornithidae. [1] Unlike many Old World vultures , this group of birds lack talons and musculature in their feet suitable to seize prey.
The osprey is usually placed in a separate family (Pandionidae), as is the secretary bird (Sagittariidae), and the New World vultures are also usually now regarded as a separate family or order. Karyotype data [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] indicate the accipitrids analysed are indeed a distinct monophyletic group.