Towing passage Vultures
Encyclopedia Britannica. com
All the New World vultures and some of the Old World vultures have bald heads. Most vultures can go for long periods without food, an adaptation to a feast-or-
famine scavenging lifestyle. In some species the beak is exceptionally strong and heavy for tearing hide, muscle, and even bone Eyesight in all vultures is well
developed, as is the sense of smell in the turkey vulture. Old World vultures have relatively strong feet, but New World vultures have flat, weak feet that are poorly
adapted for grasping.
Most vultures consume carrion, garbage, and even excrement, but rarely do they descend upon live animals. A few occasionally take helpless prey such as lambs
and tortoises or, in the case of Andean condors, newbom calves Vultures may remain aloft for hours, soaring gracefully on long, broad wings. When one bird
descends to a dead or dying animal, others may be attracted from miles away. When feeding, vultures maintain a strict social order based on body size and strength
of beak. Smaller vultures must wait for the scraps left behind by the larger, dominant species. Even large vultures, however, give way to nearly all mammalian
competitors, including jackals, hyenas, and coyotes.
Old World vultures build large stick platform nests in trees or on cliffs, sometimes in large colonies Most of the larger Old World vultures lay only a single egg New
World vultures do not build nests but lay their eggs in natural cavities in cliffs or trees. The smaller New World vultures lay two eggs and incubate them for just over a
month. The largest species lay only a single egg that may take nearly two months to hatch The young mature more slowly than those of typical birds of prey
In two to three complete sentences, explain why smaller vultures wait for larger vultures to eat Use details and information from the text to support your answer
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