VULTURES
Birds    -     Vertebrates    -     Carnivore
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GRIFFIN VULTURE
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AN EGYPTIAN VULTURE
Vultures …
  • Are birds of prey and scavengers
  • Prefer fresh meat but may eat really rotten carcasses and this helps to prevent the spread of diseases from old, rotting corpses
  • May attack extremely sick, wounded and infirmed animals
  • Have an excellent sense of sight and smell
  • There are 23 different species of vultures
  • Are quite sociable and will often feed, fly or roost in large flocks
  • Can smell a dead animal from a mile or more away
  • Have bare heads and often bare necks - this stops parasites and bacteria burrowing into their feathers
  • Urinate on their legs and feet in order to keep cool on hot days
  • When threatened, they will vomit to lighten their body weight in order that they can escape danger
  • Some can eat so much that they are unable to fly

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

  1. A colony of vultures
  2. A committee of vultures
  3. A kettle of vultures (when circling)
  4. A wake of vultures (when feeding together at a carcass)
  5. A venue of vultures
IDIOMS, METAPHORS AND EXPRESSIONS
1.   Culture vulture