### animal | vertebrate | bird | raptor | vulture:

Black vulture
* Most black vultures have necks
* Some black vultures become breeders
  - eat lambs
* Some black vultures kill animals
* Some black vultures prey on newborn sheep
* are a more southern species and have been almost unknown in New England
  - highly social, and young birds remain with their family group for several years
  - large scavengers with an entirely black body and a bald gray head
  - southern birds that have slowly been extending their range northward
* attack live turtle hatchlings.
* can better tolerate human presence.
* confide in other members and stay immensely alert to avoid any danger when eating.
* fly with a series of heavy flaps followed by a labored glide.
* kill and eat new-born lambs
  - young pigs in Kentucky
* rely on eyesights.
* soar higher than their turkey kin, and they tend to feed on larger prey.

Buzzard
* are a frequent sight riding the thermal currents
  - carrion eaters which means that they live on dead animals
  - efficient creatures
  - hawks
  - the great scavengers of the desert
* eat rabbits, voles, snakes, frogs and small birds.
* have short necks, broad wings and fairly short tails.
* often congregate around a wounded animal or a carcass, waiting for the inevitable end.
* typically circle or perch near a perishing victim.

### animal | vertebrate | bird | raptor | vulture:

Condor
* also bathe frequently and spend hours preening and drying their feathers.
* apparently depend on visual rather than olfactory cues to locate food.
* are an endangered species due to loss of viable habitat and environmental hazards
  - birds of prey
  - by nature curious, and prone to perching on power poles
  - fastidious birds
  - highly secretive
  - large land birds on the verge of extinction
  - monogamous and pair for life
  - scavengers or carrion feeders
* become sexually mature at about five or six years of age and mate for life.
* build simple nests, often using caves in cliff faces to shelter their young from predators.
* can soar and glide for hours without beating their wings.
* defecate on their legs to reduce their core body temperature.
* generally nest only once every other year and lay but one egg.
* have a highly acid digestive system that kills many viruses and strains of bacteria
  - low reproductive rate
  - bare heads and necks, dull gray-black feathers, and blunt claws
  - heads that are bare of feathers
  - one of the largest wingspans at nine feet
* help to reduce the spread of diseases by quickly disposing of infected carcasses.
* only flap their wings during flight to gain or maintain speed or altitude.
* prefer fresh kills, but they also eat decayed food when neccessary.
* roost in tall snags or on cliff faces to elude terrestrial predators
  - together on horizontal limbs of tall trees, on ledges, or in cliff potholes
* soar slowly and stably
  - through the air and search for carrion
* spend more time in a day roosting than flying.
* sun themselves, which helps dry feathers prior to flight and helps the bird warm up.
* use rising air currents to fly and avoid using energy to flap their wings.
  * are scavengers. Their distinctive bare heads are an adaptation to their feeding method. It helps to keep them clean as they feed inside a carcass.

Egyptian vulture
* Egyptian Vultures are another endangered species within Europe.
* Most egyptian vultures have large ranges
* Some egyptian vultures arrive at zoos.

Hooded vulture
* Hooded Vultures are scavengers that consume food from a variety of sources.
* are silent birds.

King vulture
* Includes photo and distribution in Suriname.
* are birds
  - diurnal carnivorous scavengers
  - found from Mexico south to Argentina
  - long-lived, have low fecundity, and have comparatively simple husbandry needs
  - sensitive when nesting and have a tendency to kill hatchlings
* eat carrion, or dead or decaying animal matter.