Vulture Images of The Public Domain
Picking through old books and archives in our hunt for choice public domain tidbits we scavenged up some juicy vulture images. This is a feast for the eyes.
We also came across some interesting facts about vultures.
There are 23 living species of vultures. 16 species are classified as Old World vultures, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. The remaining 7 species are New World vultures, native to North and South America. Interestingly, Old World and New World species are only superficially similar due to convergent evolution. This means they evolved separately and yet developed similar characteristics.
We knew that vultures are scavengers, but we we hadn’t really thought about what that actually entailed. Apparently vultures have evolved to have extremely corrosive stomach acid that allows them to safely dissolve toxins found within carcasses. The flesh of animals (carrion) can be infected with diseases such as anthrax that would be lethal to other animals. One species of vulture (the bearded vulture) can even digest bones! New World vultures urinate on themselves, which not only kills off harmful bacteria from walking through carcasses. Vulture eating etiquette reminds us of buffet dining. The birds gorge themselves, and then sleepily rest while they wait for their food to digest.
Bonus Fact: Groups of vultures are called a “wake” when they are feeding, a “committee” when they are resting on the ground or in trees, and a “kettle” when they are in flight.
Hope you found these vulture facts as interesting as we did! We put together a collection of 12 background-free illustrations of vultures. Check it out!
