Vultures are nature's most successful scavengers, and they provide an array of ecological, economic, and cultural services. As the only known obligate scavengers, vultures are uniquely adapted to a scavenging lifestyle. Vultures' unique adaptations include soaring flight, keen eyesight, and extremely low pH levels in their stomachs. Presently, 14 of 23 (61%) vulture species worldwide are threat...

The provision of supplementary food at vulture restaurants is a well-established tool in the conservation of vulture species. Among their many applications, vulture restaurants are used to provide a safe food source in areas where carcasses are commonly baited with poisons. Rapid and extensive declines of vultures in the Indian subcontinent have been attributed to the toxic effects of diclofena...

Critically endangered White-rumped vulture (WRV), Gyps bengalensis and Slender-billed vulture (SBV), Gyps tenuirostris monitoring was conducted in Nawalparasi district in the winter of 2005 following Postupalsky criterion. The objectives of this study were to identify and monitor nest localities, behaviour and to explore information about the vultures. A total of 48 Gyps vulture nest was locate...

—The naked heads of Cathartes vultures are widely believed to be adaptations for temperature regulation and to reduce plumage fouling during carrion feeding. Bright head color and the elaborate pattern of caruncles on the head and neck skin have a likely function in intraand interspecific signaling. These integumentary characters have been difficult to study because of extensive postmortem colo...

Seven of the nine vulture species in South Africa are listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. From these, the Cape Griffon vulture (Gyps corprotheres) is the most endangered species in the region. Although inadequate nutritional support has been blamed on the constant decline in populations, the process of vulture restaurants has failed to...

MIGLIORINI, R. H., C. LINDER, J. L. MOURA, AND J. A. S. VEIGA. Gluconeogenesis in a carnivorous bird (black vulture). Am. J. Physiol. 225(6) : 1389-l 392. 1973.-Gluconeogenesis studies were carried out in the black vulture (Coragyps atratus), a carnivorous bird. The blood sugar levels of the black vulture were markedly resistant to 3 days of fasting. Also, no increase in plasma FFA levels was d...

William Bartram described the Painted Vulture (Vultur sacra) as a new species in his 1791 book on travels in Florida and other southeastern states. However, no specimen of this bird survives, and it has not been reported by any subsequent ornithologist. Bartram's detailed description is not presently endorsed by the American Ornithologists' Union and has been widely regarded as a myth, a misdes...

The status of many Gyps vulture populations are of acute conservation concern as several show marked and rapid decline. Vultures rely heavily on cues from conspecifics to locate carcasses via local enhancement. A simulation model is developed to explore the roles vulture and carcass densities play in this system, where information transfer plays a key role in locating food. We find a sigmoid re...

BACKGROUND The knowledge of both potential distribution and habitat suitability is fundamental in spreading species to inform in advance management and conservation planning. After a severe decline in the past decades, the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) is now spreading its breeding range towards the northwest in Spain and Europe. Because of its key ecological function, anticipated spatial knowl...

Growing vulture populations represent increasing hazards to civil and military aircraft. To assess vulture flight behavior and activity patterns at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina, we equipped 11 black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and 11 turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) with solarpowered Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite transmitters during a 2-year study (1 Oct ...