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There are two families of Vulture species, the Old World Vultures common to Africa and Asia, Accipitridae and the New World Vultures, Cathartidae which include the Turkey Vulture and the American Black Vulture. The Old World Vultures find their food by sight, whereas the New World vultures can sniff out a roadkill better than a redneck with the munchies.
Interestingly, these two families of vultures are a great example of Convergent Evolution (for those of you who believe in that balderdash). Convergent evolution is when two groups of animals evolve independently with the same characteristics. (As opposed to divergent evolution, when two groups arise from a common ancestor but acquire different characteristics-ie Lions and Tigers)
And now, to lower the intellectual tone to a more comfortable level: check out Vulture Ball after the jump.
What do you get when you provide a kickball filled with meat to your backyard Turkey Vultures?
Vulture Ball You are encouraged to try this at home, by the way.
And since it's lunchtime;
African White Backed Vulture, Gyps africanus, Feeding on Carrion
Vultures generally have featherless heads, functioning a bit as a "swim cap" for their regular dives into bloody messes.
Ancient Egyptians revered the vulture as "close to the gods" because of its high soaring flight. The close mother/child relationship of vulture also made them symbolic of motherhood in ancient hieroglyphs.
More of the African White Backed Vulture,
revealing it's graceful flight and distinctive "get your beak off my decaying fleshy snack" squawk.
A fairly unconvincing effort, if you ask me:
Teaching Vultures to Fly
The Parsi community of Bombay have a centuries old ritual of leaving out the bodies of their dead for Vultures to consume. Because of a depletion of Indian vultures due to disease (bird flu?) The Parsi have had to resort to using giant solar reflectors to decompose their dead in a manner consistent with their beliefs.
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