Those Fascinating Vultures

Most people are not big fans of vultures.  They were never really a number one favorite of mine either—at least not until I  started working with and learning about them at the World Bird Sanctuary.

Vultures come off as pretty gross birds.  They eat dead things, they projectile vomit as a self-defense mechanism, and New World vultures urinate on their legs to keep cool.  So, why are vultures such awesome birds?

Osiris the Egyptian Vulture is an Old World Vulture (photo: Gay Schroer)

For starters, vultures are super-important to our environment.  Without them, we would have an awful lot of dead things (carrion) lying around.  Rotting animals are breeding grounds for bacteria and disease.  Vultures help keep animal carcasses cleaned up, and thus help stop the spread of most diseases—positives in both a visual way (no one enjoys seeing dead animals all over the place) and health aspects of human life.

If animal carcasses harbor so much bacteria and disease, how can vultures eat them without getting sick?  Well, vultures have super strong stomach acids that can kill the bacteria, making them a dead end for disease.  Their strong stomach acid also helps them out quite a bit with that projectile vomit they use for defense against predators.  Their stomach acid is so strong that it can even strip the paint off of a car!  It’s a good thing they have it, though, because it helps us out with diseases and bacteria.

Vader the Black Vulture is a New World Vulture native to the southern United States (photo: Gay Schroer)

Vultures also have some of the neatest personalities.  Each vulture I have worked with so far has been completely different from the others.  Goober, the Black Vulture, gets very excited for his food and he even skips and makes barking noises!  Desi, the Hooded Vulture, seems rambunctious and is very gung ho about flying in shows.  Mortimer, the Turkey Vulture, is a dominant bird that seems to know exactly what he wants while Kinsey, another Turkey Vulture, seems a little bit shy around crowds.  Each vulture is very unique, even amongst the same species.  They each have their own personalities, and I feel privileged to get to work with them.

Desi, the Hooded Vulture, is an Old World vulture (photo: Gay Schroer)

There are also big differences between New World and Old World vultures.  New World vultures, such as the Andean Condor, Turkey Vulture, and Black Vulture urinate on their legs to keep cool when it is hot outside.  Old World vultures, like the Hooded Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, and Bearded Vulture don’t do this behavior.  It may seem gross, but it also acts as a natural anti-bacterial by killing germs on their legs and feet.

Skinner, a New World Turkey Vulture, displays his beautiful feather pattern (photo: Gay Schroer)

Several New World vulture species live in groups with social hierarchies, whereas Old World vultures typically live solitary lives.  Old World vultures also have a strong grip in their feet, whereas New World vultures do not.  If you look at a Turkey Vulture’s feet, they look fairly similar to those of a stork or crane.  New World vultures are actually more closely related to cranes or herons than they are to Old World vultures.  They are superficially similar due to convergent evolution, which in this case means both kinds of vultures evolved to feed on dead animals.  They aren’t closely related, but they evolved similar traits because they had to adapt to similar environments and feeding habits.

Vultures are super interesting and they have become some of my favorite birds.  I am so glad that I have the opportunity to work with them each day and learn more about their unique traits.

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to take a really close look at our resident vultures.  You, too, may find that they are truly fascinating birds.

Any of the vultures mentioned in this article can be adopted via our Adopt A Bird program.

Submitted by Kelsey McCord, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Raptors Extinct and Extant

While working at World Bird Sanctuary’s Stone Zoo bird show in Boston, I have learned to make three major distinctions indicative of raptors: excellent eyesight, strong grasping feet and a sharp, curved beak.

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park has made Velociraptors famous, but what do these prehistoric “raptors” have in common with modern raptors? They certainly don’t have a curved sharp beak or grasping feet.

It turns out Velociraptors and other theropod dinosaurs with raptor in their name such as Oviraptor or Eoraptor aren’t even closely related.  However they are united under the Maniraptoran clade, which means “seizing hands,” a nice parallel to extant (meaning living today) raptors’ seizing feet. They are defined as being more closely related to birds than other dinosaurs.

Dromaeosaurid (photo: wikipedia by Tom Parker)

Dromaeosaurs, or “running lizards,” are a group of Maniraptors containing Velociraptors and other “true” prehistoric raptors defined by their large grasping hands, a stiffened tail and one large, slashing claw on each foot. Modern birds of the Aves class are the sister group to Dromaeosaurs. You can compare an artists’ rendition of an extinct  raptor to our extant raptor, Diablo the Tawny eagle below.

Today we have many different raptors within Aves, which belong to different groups as well. The orders Accipitriformes, Strigiformes and Falconiformes are an example of convergent evolution and each produced unique raptor species.

Accipitriformes is the most diverse raptor order consisting of many different families of eagles, hawks, harriers, kites, osprey, the secretary bird and Old World vultures.  New World vultures of the Americas are not related to Old World vultures of Africa, Europe and Asia.  They have merely evolved to fulfill similar ecological niches.

Osiris, the Egyptian Vulture is an Old World Vulture (photo: Gay Schroer)

Baton Rouge, a King Vulture, is a New World Vulture (photo: Gay Schroer)

New World vulture phylogenic placement has proven to be difficult with DNA evidence supporting their inclusion in both the bird orders of Accipitriformes and Ciconiiformes or storks. Old World vultures are true raptors, while New World vultures lack the strong grasping feet of raptors. You can make this comparison between Osiris the Egyptian vulture (Old World) and Baton Rouge the King vulture (New World) at our Stone Zoo bird show.

Riley, a Barn Owl (photo: Aurora Potts)

Strigiformes consist of two main families of owls; barn owls and typical owls. Owls are mostly nocturnal and are therefore more sound sensitive than other raptors. Barn owls belong to the family Tytonidae.  Their face is heart-shaped and their legs are longer than that of Strigidae owls. Typical owls belong to the more varied family, Strigidae. You can see these distinctions on Riley the American Barn owl and Reese the Great Horned owl at our Stone Zoo bird show.

Reese, a Great Horned Owl (photo: Aurora Potts)

Naturally, Falconiformes are falcons, which are more closely related to songbirds and parrots than they are to any other raptor (believe it or not). Falcons are the speedy and agile birds of prey that use their tomial tooth at the end of their beak to break their prey’s spine. You can see the notch that is the tomial tooth on this Peregrine falcon on exhibit at Stone Zoo.

A Peregrine Falcon on exhibit at Stone Zoo

Even though extinct and extant raptors are hardly related, you can see all these fascinating predators possess many adaptations.   Their unique characteristics allow for a wide variety of species to share the generally speedy seizing and grasping raptorial name in prehistoric times and up to modern day.

Submitted by Aurora Potts, Naturalist/Trainer for World Bird Sanctuary’s Stone Zoo Show

How Our Birds Get Their Names

The staff gets asked many different questions at the summer bird programs World Bird Sanctuary presents at zoos.  What type of bird is that?  How old is the bird?  Can it fly?  By far one of the most common questions is what is the bird’s name?

Humans have an innate desire to name things.  This does not just include their pets, but also their houses and even their modes of transportation.  All boats have a name from the tiniest dinghy to the grandest yacht.  I’ve even named both the cars I’ve owned.  We humans just love to have something to call things other than what they actually are.

Vader the Black Vulture (photo by Gay Schroer)

While not all of our birds or animals can actually recognize their names (though many seem to), we need something to call them other than their species.  World Bird Sanctuary is home to over twenty Bald Eagles, which could get confusing.  Calling them by their species and then a number doesn’t work either, especially in a program setting.  “Ladies and gentleman, entering from the back of the theater is Bald Eagle number fifteen!”  That sounds a little ridiculous, particularly if you only have the one Bald Eagle in your show!  Hence, all of our animals have names, even our Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.

Naming a bird can sometimes be tricky.  You need something that is clever, especially if the bird is a show bird, but also easy to say.  Remember this is a word you will need to repeat many times throughout the program.  When we obtained a black vulture we toyed with many names including “Noir” which is French for black and also an excellent film genre.  Of course once we practiced saying Noir over and over, we decided it might not be the best fit.  Likewise if you choose anything mythological or tribal you want to make sure it means what you think it means.

Osiris our Egyptian Vulture is named for an Egyptian god (photo by Gay Schroer)

Tsavo our fantastic Bateleur Eagle is named for Tsavo National Park in Africa.  Unfortunately the name “Tsavo” translates to “place of slaughter”.  Osiris an Egyptian Vulture is named for the Egyptian god of the underworld.  Osiris turned out to be a girl.

Hugnin our White-naped Raven (photo by Gay Schroer)

Our White-necked Raven Hugnin on the other hand is perfect.  In Norse mythology Odin had two ravens; Hugnin and Munnin, representing thought and memory respectively. Hugnin is an incredibly smart bird so her name actually works on two levels, like Scarlett our Red Shouldered hawk (named for Scarlett O’Hara and the color) and Jet our American Kestrel (because he kicks like Jet Li and is fast like a jet).

Scarlett the Red-shouldered Hawk (photo by Gay Schroer)

We not only scour mythology for names but also history as in the case of many of our Bald Eagles, like Lewis and Clark, or Timigen our Red Tailed Hawk named for the boyhood name of Genghis Khan.  Timigen was quite a force to be reckoned with when he was younger.

Timigen the Red-tailed Hawk (photo by Gay Schroer)

 Every single name we choose for our birds has a story or a reason, be it their personality (Mischief another White Necked Raven), literary reference (Poe our Common Raven), appearance (Reese a very orange Great Horned Owl), in memory of a wonderful volunteer(Kinsey a Turkey Vulture) or even where they were found (Sanibel a Bald Eagle found on Sanibel Island, Florida).

Every single bird has a name and every name has a story. So, next time you are at World Bird Sanctuary ask about the bird’s name, the answer may actually surprise you.

Submitted by Leah Tyndall, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Osiris – Not The God Of The Dead

 Welcome new and returning readers!  Today’s blog is about Osiris—not the Egyptian God of the Dead—but an amazing Egyptian Vulture that resides at the World Bird Sanctuary. 

 Meet Osiris, the only Egyptian Vulture ever hatched at WBS

First off, there are two groups of vultures; Old World and New World.  There are 15 Old World vultures and 7 New World vultures, with 22 in total.  The big difference between old and new is old world vultures are related to birds of prey, and have very strong feet.  New world vultures are more closely related to storks and cranes, and have no strength in their feet.  Egyptian vultures are Old World vultures and are native to northern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and India.  In those areas they can be seen in the mountains, wetlands, plains, and uplands.

 How could anyone resist Osiris's new age hairdo?

Egyptian Vultures are very adaptable birds whose territories will even include populated areas.  Sometimes they can be spotted at garbage dumps.  These beautiful vultures will eat carrion (dead animals), eggs, and they will even catch and eat large insects. 

 Osiris demonstrates the Egyptian Vultures' tool using ability

Eating the eggs of other birds is a very well known trait of the Egyptian Vulture--especially how they do it.  Egyptian Vultures are among the few birds that use tools!  They will use stones and with their beaks throw them on the eggs to break them.  Once the eggs are broken, they will then use their long slender beaks to pry off the fractured shell pieces to get to the very nutritious center!  In addition to flying in our shows Osiris demonstrates this remarkable tool using adaptation for our audiences! 

Egyptian Vultures live up to 20 years in the wild.  In captivity however, they can live much longer.  The longest recorded age in captivity was 37 years old.  At 14 years of age, Osiris has a long way to go. 

Osiris was hatched in the spring of 1998 at the World Bird Sanctuary.  She was the only Egyptian Vulture to be bred here. 

In the wild, these vultures like to nest on mountainous cliffs and ledges that have cavities where they can nest under an overhanging rock to provide chicks with shade and little direct sunlight.  Their clutch size ranges from one to three eggs.  During incubation, if an egg is stolen or damaged early in the incubation period, they can lay another to replace it.  The chicks will fledge (leave the nest) at the age of only three months!  The fledglings’ plumage (feather color) will change from brown to white over a period of months.  Mature Egyptian Vultures have white plumage with head feathers that give them a touseled look.  I especially love Osiris’s head feathers! 

These vultures are among the group of animals on the Endangered Species List.  There are a variety of different reasons why they are at risk.  Lead poisoning from gunshots, electrocution from power lines, collisions from wind turbines, direct and indirect poisoning, and habitat change.   

 Adopt A Bird parents will have a private visit with Osiris

Osiris is available for adoption in our Adopt a Bird program.  To find out more information, call 636-861-3225.  All adoption donations are tax deductible.  Osiris is a very smart and beautiful bird.  I actually adopted her in 2010 as a birthday gift for someone.  Adopt A Bird Parents will need to make a reservation to see her since she resides at the behind the scenes ETC (Educational Training Center) building. The ETC is not normally open for public viewing except during our Open House in October each year.

Submitted by Lisbeth Hodges, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist