View source for Vulture

{{Short description|Common name for a type of bird}}
{{About|the type of bird|other uses}}
{{For|the genus of New World vultures|Vultur}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|3.6|0|[[Miocene]] – Recent}}<ref>{{cite web |url= https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=105599|title= Fossilworks:Aegypiinae|publisher=Fossilworks |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>
| image = Gyps rueppellii -Nairobi National Park, Kenya-8-4c.jpg
| image_caption = [[Rüppell's vulture]]
| parent = Accipitriformes
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = * [[Accipitridae]] p.p.
** [[Gypaetinae]]
** [[Aegypiinae]]
* [[Cathartidae]]
}}

A '''vulture''' is a [[bird of prey]] that [[Scavenger|scavenges]] on [[carrion]]. There are 23 [[Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa|extant]] species of vulture (including [[condor]]s).<ref name=Ogada2001>{{Cite journal|date=2001|author1=Ogada, D.L. |author2=Keesing, F. |author3=Virani, M.Z. |title=Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide |url=https://assets.peregrinefund.org/docs/pdf/research-library/2011/2011-Ogada-vultures.pdf|journal=[[Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences]] |issue=The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06293.x |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> [[Old World vulture]]s include 16 living species native to [[Europe]], [[Africa]], and [[Asia]]; [[New World vulture]]s are restricted to [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] and consist of seven species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Amadon, D. |year=1977 |title=Notes on the taxonomy of vultures |journal=[[Ornithological Applications|The Condor]] |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=413–416 |doi=10.2307/1367720 |jstor=1367720 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v079n04/p0413-p0416.pdf |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>
A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald, unfeathered [[head (anatomy)|head]]. This bare skin is thought to keep the head clean when feeding, and also plays an important role in [[thermoregulation]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ward, J. |author2=McCafferty, D.J. |author3=Houston, D.C. |author4=Ruxton, G.D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Why do vultures have bald heads? The role of postural adjustment and bare skin areas in thermoregulation |journal=[[Journal of Thermal Biology]] |volume=33 |issue=3 |date=2008 |pages=168–173 |doi=10.1016/j.jtherbio.2008.01.002|bibcode=2008JTBio..33..168W }}</ref>

Vultures have been observed to hunch their bodies and tuck in their heads in the cold, and open their wings and stretch their necks in the heat. They also urinate on themselves as a means of cooling their bodies.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Temperature Regulation in Turkey Vultures |first1=Z. |last1=Arad|first2=M. H. |last2=Bernstein |name-list-style=amp |date=1988 |journal=The Condor|volume=90 |issue=4|pages=913–919 |doi=10.2307/1368848 |jstor=1368848}}</ref>

A group of vultures in flight is called a "kettle", while the term "committee" refers to a group of vultures resting on the ground or in trees. A group of vultures that are feeding is termed a "wake".<ref name="Galván289">{{cite book |editor=Galván, J. |title=They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World |year=2014 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |location=[[Santa Barbara, California]] |isbn=978-1-61069-342-4 |author=Hamilton, S.L. |chapter=Sky Burials |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2RyBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 |page=289}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
Although [[New World vulture]]s and [[Old World vulture]]s share many resemblances, they are not very closely related. Rather, they share resemblance because of [[convergent evolution]].<ref>Phillips (2000)</ref>

Early naturalists placed all vultures under one single biological group. [[Carl Linnaeus]] had assigned both Old World vultures and New World vultures in a ''Vultur'' [[genus]], even including the [[harpy eagle]]. Soon anatomists split Old and New World vultures, with New World vultures being placed in a new suborder, ''Cathartae'', later renamed ''[[New World vulture|Cathartidae]]'' as per the [[Nomenclature codes|Rules of Nomenclature]] (from [[Greek language|Greek]]: ''carthartes'', meaning "purifier")<ref>Brookes (2006)</ref> by French ornithologist [[Frédéric de Lafresnaye]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Notes on the Taxonomy of Vultures The Condor Vol. 79, No. 4|year=1977|pages=413–416}}</ref> The suborder was later recognised as a family, rather than a suborder.

In the late 20th century, some ornithologists argued that New World vultures are more closely related to [[stork]]s on the basis of [[karyotype]],<ref>de Boer (1975)</ref> morphological,<ref>Ligon (1967)</ref> and behavioral<ref>König (1982)</ref> data. Thus some authorities placed them in [[Ciconiiformes]] with [[stork]]s and [[heron]]s; Sibley and Monroe (1990) even considered them a subfamily of the storks. This was criticized,<ref>Griffiths (1994)</ref><ref>Fain & Houde (2004)</ref> and an early DNA sequence study<ref>Avise (1994)</ref> was based on erroneous data and subsequently retracted.<ref>Brown (2009)</ref><ref>Cracraft ''et al.'' (2004)</ref><ref>Gibb ''et al.'' (2007)</ref> There was then an attempt to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order, Cathartiformes, not closely associated with either the birds of prey or the storks and herons.<ref>Ericson ''et al.'' (2006)</ref>

== Old World ==
{{main|Old World vultures}}

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.

The 16 species in 9 genera are:
* [[Cinereous vulture]], ''Aegypius monachus''
* [[Griffon vulture]], ''Gyps fulvus''
* [[White-rumped vulture]], ''Gyps bengalensis''
* [[Rüppell's vulture]], ''Gyps rueppelli''
* [[Indian vulture]], ''Gyps indicus''
* [[Slender-billed vulture]], ''Gyps tenuirostris''
* [[Himalayan vulture]], ''Gyps himalayensis''
* [[White-backed vulture]], ''Gyps africanus''
* [[Cape vulture]], ''Gyps coprotheres''
* [[Hooded vulture]], ''Necrosyrtes monachus''
* [[Red-headed vulture]], ''Sarcogyps calvus''
* [[Lappet-faced vulture]], ''Torgos tracheliotos''
* [[White-headed vulture]], ''Trigonoceps occipitalis''
* [[Bearded vulture]] (Lammergeier), ''Gypaetus barbatus''
* [[Egyptian vulture]], ''Neophron percnopterus''
* [[Palm-nut vulture]], ''Gypohierax angolensis''

<gallery mode=packed>
File:Wiki vulture2.jpg|Some members of both the Old and New World vultures have an unfeathered neck and head, shown as radiating heat in this thermographic image.
File:Gyps fulvus feeding.jpg|Griffon vultures scavenging a red deer carcass in Spain
File:Vulture 19o05.jpg|Griffon vulture soaring
File:Vulture11.jpg|Vulture preparing to land in Kenya
File:African Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), Kruger National Park.jpg|African hooded vulture in [[Kruger National Park]]
File:White-backed vultures eating a dead wildebeest.JPG|A wake of [[white-backed vulture]]s eating a [[wildebeest]] carcass in [[Maasai Mara]]
File:White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Flock gathered near carcass Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg|Flock of white-rumped vultures in India
File:Vulture's head Park Mellat Tehran.JPG|Head of a vulture chick, Iran
</gallery>

== New World ==
{{Main|New World vulture}}

[[File:(Coragyps atratus) black vulture wake at road kill - wiki.jpg|alt=(Coragyps atratus) American black vulture wake at road kill|thumb|American black vultures congregated at [[roadkill]] ]]

The [[New World vulture]]s and [[condor]]s found in warm and temperate areas of the [[Americas]] belong to the family [[Cathartidae]]. Recent DNA evidence suggests that they should be included within order [[Accipitriformes]] along with birds of prey including hawks, eagles, and Old World vultures {{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}. Several species have a good sense of smell, unusual for [[Birds of prey|raptors]], and are able to smell dead animals from great heights, up to a mile away. The seven species are:

* [[Black vulture]] ''Coragyps atratus'' in South America and north to the US
* [[Turkey vulture]] ''Cathartes aura'' throughout the Americas to southern Canada
* [[Lesser yellow-headed vulture]] ''Cathartes burrovianus'' in South America and north to Mexico
* [[Greater yellow-headed vulture]] ''Cathartes melambrotus'' in the [[Amazon Basin]] of tropical South America
* [[California condor]] ''Gymnogyps californianus'' in California, formerly widespread in the mountains of western North America
* [[Andean condor]] ''Vultur gryphus'' in the [[Andes]]
* [[King vulture]] ''Sarcoramphus papa'' from southern Mexico to northern Argentina

== Feeding ==

Vultures are [[scavenger]]s, meaning that they eat dead animals. Outside of the oceans, vultures are the only known [[obligate]] scavengers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ruxton|first1=Graeme D.|last2=Houston|first2=David C.|date=2004-06-07|title=Obligate vertebrate scavengers must be large soaring fliers|journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology|volume=228|issue=3|pages=431–436|doi=10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.02.005|issn=0022-5193|pmid=15135041|bibcode=2004JThBi.228..431R }}</ref> They rarely attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webvulture.com/vulture-facts.html |title=Fast Vulture Facts |publisher=WebVulture.com |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718015236/http://www.webvulture.com/vulture-facts.html |archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their [[crop (anatomy)|crops]] bulge, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. These birds do not carry food to their young in their talons but disgorge it from their crops. The mountain-dwelling [[bearded vulture]] is the only vertebrate to specialize in eating bones; it carries bones to the nest for the young, and hunts some live prey.<ref name="buechley"/>

Vultures are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. Vulture [[stomach acid]] is exceptionally corrosive ([[pH]]=1.0<ref name="buechley">{{Cite journal |last1=Buechley |first1=E. R. |last2=Sekercioglu |first2=C. H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Vultures |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=13 |pages=R560–R561 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.052 |pmid=27404248 |year=2016 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016CBio...26.R560B }}</ref>), allowing them to safely digest putrid carcasses infected with [[botulinum toxin]], [[hog cholera]] virus, and [[anthrax]] bacteria that would be lethal to other scavengers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-09/968529176.Bc.r.html |title=Re: How come that vultures can resist dangerous toxins when feeding on carcass |last1=Caryl |first1=Jim |date=September 7, 2000 |publisher=MadSci Network |access-date=February 15, 2013}}</ref> New World vultures often [[vomiting|vomit]] when threatened or approached. Contrary to some accounts, they do not "projectile vomit" on their attacker in defense, but to lighten their stomach load to ease take-off. The vomited meal residue may distract a predator, allowing the bird to escape.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vulturesociety.homestead.com/TVFacts.html |title=Turkey Vulture Facts |publisher=Turkey Vulture Society |access-date=2012-12-01}}</ref>

In various regions of Africa, the dynamic interplay of vultures and predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals significantly influences the continent's food web. These avian scavengers actively engage in competition with these predatory animals for sustenance, meticulously tracking their hunting activities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-06 |title=Birds That Are Scavengers and Their Importance To The Ecosystem {{!}} STP News |url=https://news.safaritravelplus.com/animals/birds-that-are-scavengers/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Traditionally, vultures are known to bide their time, patiently observing from a distance or high in the sky as predators bring down their prey and commence feeding. Once these formidable predators have satiated their hunger and moved away from their kills, the vultures swoop in, making the most of the leftovers.

New research has revealed that these birds can, in addition to sight, respond to auditory cues indicative of potential foraging opportunities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-20 |title=Vultures respond to auditory cues - AfricanBioServices |url=https://africanbioservices.eu/vultures-respond-to-auditory-cues/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Interaction between vultures and predators is not strictly sequential or one-sided. Vultures, being opportunistic creatures, will often engage in risky behavior if a prime opportunity arises. Sometimes, when the predator numbers are low or distracted, these large birds might move in earlier, attempting to snatch morsels from the kill before the predators have fully vacated the scene. This daring strategy, while high-risk, underscores the fierce competition and survival instincts prevalent in the harsh realities of the African wild.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Food fight: Jackal takes on vultures over a carcass {{!}} Predator vs Prey {{!}} Earth Touch News |url=https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/predator-vs-prey/food-fight-jackal-takes-on-vultures-over-a-carcass |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Earth Touch News Network |language=en}}</ref>

New World vultures also urinate straight down their legs; the uric acid kills bacteria accumulated from walking through carcasses, and also acts as evaporative cooling.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/vulture-vomit.htm |title= Why is it a bad idea to scare a vulture? |last1=Conger |first1=Cristen |publisher=[[HowStuffWorks]] |access-date=February 15, 2013|date= 2008-10-13 }}</ref>

== Conservation status ==
{{See also|Indian vulture crisis|African vulture crisis}}

Vultures in south Asia, mainly in India and [[Nepal]], have declined dramatically since the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Prakash, V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Pain, D.J. |author3=Cunningham, A.A. |author4=Donald, P.F. |author5=Prakash, N. |author6=Verma, A. |author7=Gargi, R. |author8=Sivakumar, S. |author9=Rahmani, A.R. |title=Catastrophic collapse of Indian white-backed ''Gyps bengalensis'' and long-billed ''Gyps indicus'' vulture populations |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |year=2003 |volume=109 |issue=3 |pages=381–390 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00164-7 |bibcode=2003BCons.109..381P |url=https://save-vultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2003-Prakash-et-al-Catastrophic-declines-Biol-Con.pdf |access-date=2024-07-28 |archive-date=2022-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312191335/https://save-vultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2003-Prakash-et-al-Catastrophic-declines-Biol-Con.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> It has been found that this decline was caused by residues of the drug [[diclofenac]] in livestock carcasses.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oaks |first1=J. L. |first2=Martin |last2=Gilbert |first3=M. Z. | last3=Virani |first4=R. T. |last4=Watson |first5=C. U. |last5=Meteyer |first6=B. A. |last6=Rideout |first7=H. L. |last7=Shivaprasad |first8=S. |last8=Ahmed |first9=M. J. I. |last9=Chaudhry |first10=M. |last10=Arshad |first11=S. |last11=Mahmood |first12=A. |last12=Ali |first13=A. A. |last13=Khan |name-list-style=amp |title=Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |issue=6975 |pages=630–633 |date=2004 |doi=10.1038/nature02317 |pmid=14745453 |volume=427 |bibcode=2004Natur.427..630O|s2cid=16146840 }}</ref> The government of India has taken very late cognizance of this fact and has banned the drug for animals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prakash |first1=V. |first2= M. C. |last2=Bishwakarma |first3=A. |last3=Chaudhary |first4=R. |last4=Cuthbert |first5=R. |last5=Dave |first6=M. |last6=Kulkarni |first7=S. |last7=Kumar |first8=K. |last8=Paudel |first9=S. |last9=Ranade |first10=R. |last10=Shringarpure |first11=R. E. |last11=Green |name-list-style=amp |date=2012 |title=The Population Decline of ''Gyps'' Vultures in India and Nepal Has Slowed since Veterinary Use of Diclofenac was Banned |journal=[[PLOS One]] |volume=7 |issue=11 |article-number= e49118 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0049118 |pmid=23145090 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...749118P |pmc=3492300|doi-access=free }}</ref> It may take decades for vultures to come back to their earlier population level, if ever. Without them to pick corpses clean, feral dogs have multiplied, feeding on the [[carrion]], and age-old practices like the [[sky burial]]s of the [[Parsee]]s are coming to an end, permanently reducing the supply of corpses.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van Dooren |first1=T. |title=Vultures and their People in India: Equity and Entanglement in a Time of Extinctions |journal=Australian Humanities Review |date=2011 |issue=50 |url=http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-May-2011/vandooren.html |access-date=2016-09-24 |archive-date=2016-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011145001/http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-May-2011/vandooren.html }}</ref> The same problem is also seen in [[Nepal]] where the government has taken some late steps to conserve the remaining vultures.

The vulture population is threatened across Africa and Eurasia. There are many human activities that threaten vultures such as poisoning and collisions with wind turbines.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Santangeli, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Girardello, M. |author3=Buechley, E. |author4=Botha, A. |author5=Minin, E. D. |author6=Moilanen, A. |year=2019 |title=Priority areas for conservation of Old World vultures |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=1056–1065 |doi=10.1111/cobi.13282 |pmid=30645009 |pmc=6849836 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2019ConBi..33.1056S }}</ref> In central Africa there have been efforts to conserve the remaining vultures and bring their population numbers back up. The decline is largely due to the trade in vulture meat, "it is estimated that more than {{Cvt|1|e9kg|e9lb|abbr=unit|disp=sqbr}} of wild animal meat is traded" and vultures take up a large percentage of this bushmeat due to the demand in the fetish market.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Buij |first1=R. |last2=Nikolaus |first2=G. |last3=Ogada |first3=D. |last4=Whytock |first4=R. |last5=Ingram |first5=D.J. |name-list-style=amp |date=2015 |title=Trade of threatened vultures and other raptors for fetish and bushmeat in West and Central Africa |journal=Oryx |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=606–616 |doi=10.1017/S0030605315000514 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The substantial drop in vulture populations in the continent of Africa is also said to be the result of both intentional and unintentional poisoning, with one study finding it to be the cause of 61% of the vulture deaths recorded.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ogada |first1=D. |last2=Shaw |first2=P. |last3=Beyers |first3=R. L. |last4=Buij |first4=R. |last5=Murn |first5=C. |last6=Thiollay |first6=J. M. |last7=Beale |first7=C. M. |last8=Holdo |first8=R. M. |last9=Pomeroy |first9=D. |name-list-style=amp |date=2016 |title=Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinction |journal=Conservation Letters |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=89–97 |doi=10.1111/conl.12182 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2016ConL....9...89O |hdl=10023/8817 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A recent study in 2016, reported that "of the 22 vulture species, nine are critically endangered, three are endangered, four are near threatened, and six are least concern".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Buechley|first1=E. R. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Şekercioğlu|first2=Ç. H.|date=2016 |title=The avian scavenger crisis: Looming extinctions, trophic cascades, and loss of critical ecosystem functions |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=198 |pages=220–228 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.001 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2016BCons.198..220B }}</ref>

The conservation status of vultures is of particular concern to humans. For example, the decline of vulture populations can lead to increased disease transmission and resource damage, through increased populations of disease [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] and [[Pest (organism)|pest]] animal populations that scavenge carcasses opportunistically. Vultures control these pests and disease vectors indirectly through competition for carcasses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=O'Bryan |first1=C. J. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Holden |first2=M. H. |last3=Watson |first3=J. E. M. |title=The mesoscavenger release hypothesis and implications for ecosystem and human well-being |journal=Ecology Letters |issue=9 |pages=1340–1348 |doi=10.1111/ele.13288 |pmid=31131976 |year=2019|volume=22 |bibcode=2019EcolL..22.1340O |s2cid=167209009 }}</ref>

On 20 June 2019, the corpses of 468 [[white-backed vulture]]s, 17 [[white-headed vulture]]s, 28 [[hooded vulture]]s, 14 [[lappet-faced vulture]]s and 10 [[cape vulture]]s, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 [[tawny eagle]]s, were found in northern Botswana. It is suspected that they died after eating the corpses of three [[African bush elephant|elephant]]s that were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching activity by circling above dead animals.<ref name="NDTV AFP 06-2019">{{cite news |publisher=[[NDTV]] |work=[[Agence France-Press]] |title=Over 500 Rare Vultures Die After Eating Poisoned Elephants In Botswana |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-500-rare-vultures-die-after-eating-poisoned-elephants-in-botswana-2056740 |date=2019-06-21 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref><ref name="CNN 06-2019">{{cite news |last=Hurworth |first=Ella |title=More than 500 endangered vultures die after eating poisoned elephant carcasses |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/21/africa/botswana-vultures-endangered-elephants-intl-hnk/index.html |date=2019 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref><ref name="Smithsonian 06-2019">{{cite news |last=Solly |first=M. |title=Poachers' Poison Kills 530 Endangered Vultures in Botswana |publisher=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poachers-poison-kills-530-endangered-vultures-botswana-180972477/ |date=2019 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref>

== In myth and culture ==

In [[Art of ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian art]], [[Nekhbet]], a mythological goddess and patron of both the city of [[El Kab|Nekheb]] and [[Upper Egypt]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilkinson|first=R.H.|title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]]|year=2003|pages=213–214}}</ref> was depicted as a vulture. [[Alan Gardiner]] identified the species that was used in divine iconography as a [[griffon vulture]]. Arielle P. Kozloff argues that the vultures in [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] art, with their blue-tipped beaks and loose skin, better resemble the [[lappet-faced vulture]]. Many [[Great Royal Wife|Great Royal Wives]] wore [[vulture crown]]s - a symbol of protection from the goddess [[Nekhbet]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Pregnancy|url=https://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-goddess-pregnancy-5902.html}}</ref>

Ancient Egyptians believed that all vultures were female and were spontaneously born from eggs without the intervention of a male, and therefore linked the birds to purity and motherhood, but also the eternal cycle of death and rebirth for their ability to transform the "death" they feed on – i.e. carrion and waste – into life.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Life Egyptian Vulture|date=2018|url=https://www.lifegyptianvulture.it/en/the-egyptian-vulture/}}</ref>

In [[Pre-Columbian era|Pre-Columbian times]], vultures were appreciated as extraordinary beings and had high [[Iconology|iconographic]] status. They appear in many [[Mesoamerica]]n myths, legends, and [[fable]]s from civilizations such as the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] and [[Aztecs]], some depicting them negatively, others positively.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Benson|first=Elizabeth P.|title=The Vulture: The Sky and the Earth}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed>
File:Aztec vulture vessel.jpg|The Aztec vulture vessel at the new Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Pottery Gallery
File:Egypt.Nekhbet.01.jpg|[[Nekhbet]] with staff and [[shen ring]]
File:Granite Vulture from Temple of Taharqa.jpg|Granite vulture from Temple of [[Taharqa]], Sanam Abu Dom, Napatan Period, 25th Dynasty
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Jatayu]]
* [[Stele of the Vultures]]
* [[Vulture fund]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}

* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/order/falconiformes Vulture videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.ventanaws.org/species_condors/ Ventana Wildlife Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019135151/http://www.ventanaws.org/species_condors/ |date=2016-10-19 }}
* [http://www.masdebunyol.com/index.php?idioma=en Vulture observatory in Spain]
* [http://vimeo.com/15318002 A Vulture Restaurant]
* [http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/1878207/report-iima-s-vulture-count-reduced-by-two Declining Vulture Count in India]
* [http://snmcpn.org/vultures Vulture Conservation in Western Coast of India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601105044/http://www.snmcpn.org/vultures |date=2017-06-01 }}
* [https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/index Website for journal ''Vulture News'']

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[[Category:Vultures| ]]
[[Category:Birds of prey]]
[[Category:Scavengers]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]
[[Category:Polyphyletic groups]]