Portal:Birds/Selected article/2007-33
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead animals. Vultures are found in every continent except Antarctica and Oceania.
A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head, devoid of feathers. This is likely because a feathered head would become spattered with blood and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean.
The vulture population in India and Pakistan has declined by up to 95% recently in the past decade, and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction. This has been caused by the practice of giving working farm animals diclofenac, which vultures ingest via the carcasses of these animals.
