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

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

The Rookie Files: Vader Vulture

When I first started as an intern at World Bird Sanctuary in 2008 I imagined I would enjoy all of the birds that I was going to be working with.  What I never expected is that over time all the birds would grow on me, even the seemingly disgusting ones.  I am of course referring to nature’s recycler: the vulture.

Gator, a Black Vulture who was with us for many years.

It did not take me long to learn to love and appreciate the vulture.  I am especially intrigued by animals that have fascinating adaptations, and you do not get more unique than vultures--especially the New World vultures (those from North and South America).

More closely related to storks than other birds of prey, New World vultures do not have strong grasping feet and talons.  They have weak, chicken-like feet.  Since they cannot defend themselves with their feet, they projectile vomit at any predators that dare approach after they have gorged themselves.

The white film is a result of urohydrosis

They also cannot sweat, so not only will they pant to cool off (like other birds), but they will go to the bathroom down the backs of their own legs, and the evaporation cools them off by about ten to twelve degrees almost instantly.  This delightful adaptation is known as urohydrosis.  With crazy adaptations like these, how could I not become fascinated by vultures?  Luckily for me there are plenty of New World vultures at World Bird Sanctuary.

The first vulture I worked with was a turkey vulture.  After dealing with an enclosure holding six Turkey Vultures I determined humanity to be very lucky that they do not hunt live prey. 

Baton Rouge, our big beautiful King Vulture, was next, but I don’t think I ever really appreciated a vulture until I had to train one. 

Here you see Trina, one of our naturalists, flying a Black Vulture

Every vulture I had worked with up until last year was already trained; I just got to reap the benefits.  Vader, our 3-year-old Black Vulture, was not.  Well, that is not entirely true. He knew how to go into a crate (after a refresher course) and go to a perch, but he had never been in a WBS zoo show program before.  He proved to be a delightful challenge (and I do not mean that sarcastically).

Vader's natural curiosity makes him difficult to photograph

Vader, due to his young age, is incredibly curious (making it very difficult to photograph him!).  He is also easily startled and frightened.  Being a black vulture, he is also highly social, something we use to our advantage. 

If Vader were afraid of something, say a new toy or location, we could often get him over that fear simply by showing him that whatever was scaring him was not dangerous.  There is a gate on the stage at the Milwaukee County Zoo that leads into our backstage area.  Vader needed to pass through this gate in order to get onstage.  At first he was afraid to go through the narrow opening, even with tasty food on the other side!  We opened the other half of the gate so that his passageway would be wider, but still he hesitated.  Then one day I walked through it with him--success!  He followed at my side like a puppy, and after that he had no trouble with the gate, even when he had to pass through it alone.  Once through the gate he galloped across the stage to the sheer delight of the audience.  Nothing brings a smile to the audience’s faces quite like a Black Vulture galloping.

The “vulture see/vulture do” method does not always work, however.  Vader is still afraid of stumps, and despite my climbing up on top of the fence so he would hop up to me atop the fencepost, we could not get him over this fear.  He did seem very confused and upset that he could not reach me.  This is still a work in progress.

As he matures Vader will lose this ruff of black feathers

Luckily Vader is still young and so he is still learning.  He is very affectionate for a vulture, bobbing his head madly and “shnuring” (one of the sounds pertinent to a vulture) every time we come into the building. In fact his hissing/grunting, stalking walk, in combination with the hood of feathers on his neck, is what earned him the name Vader.  Over time he will lose the small black feathers on his head and his hood will recede, giving him a bald head so that it can stay nice and clean once he sticks it inside a carcass. 

With the right training and patience, eventually he will also become braver and may one day follow in the footsteps of our other great black vultures. He is off to an excellent start!

Submitted by Leah Tyndall, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer