Gulper, ripper and scrapper: anatomy of the neck in three species of vultures - Vulture Conservation Foundation (2024)

FAQs

What animals are scrappers? ›

'Scrappers' (or 'peckers') feed primarily on small scraps on and around the carcass. This group involves the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and the Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus).

Most birds have about three times as many neck vertebrae as humans, which allows for increased stability during fast movements such as flying, landing, and taking-off. The neck plays a role in head-bobbing which is present in at least 8 out of 27 orders of birds, including Columbiformes, Galliformes, and Gruiformes.

There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family.

The primary animal to be tamed or domesticated was a Goat. Afterward the first humans started domesticating wolves which then developed to Dogs. Goats were one amongst the primary animals to be domesticated by humans about a few years ago.

And while it might not sound glamorous, some animals evolved to smell bad. Skunks are the most famous stink-sprayers, but they're not alone. Some millipedes — creepy crawlers with hundreds of little legs — shoot a nasty liquid out of their bodies when disturbed.

Don't pet your bird anywhere below their neck, and only pet them gently on their head. Even if a bird's sexual organs aren't located in the areas of their back and beneath their wings, most birds still prefer being pet on the head and neck.

In an Exorcist-style display of flexibility, owls can rotate their necks a maximum of 270 degrees without breaking blood vessels or tearing tendons.

NAPE. Directly behind the bird's head is its nape. This is a word describing the back of the neck, which is also used to describe human bodies. On a House Sparrow, the nape is chestnut. The middle and upper back of a bird is referred to as its mantle but is often just called its back.

Slang. a contemptible or cantankerous person (often preceded by old ): That old buzzard has lived in the same shack for twenty years.

The white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined.

What's the difference between vultures and buzzards? ›

There are New World vultures, which consist of the Cathartidae family, and there are Old World vultures, which consist of the Accipitridae family. Buzzards, however, are a species of hawk that belong to the Buteo genus. They are predators that go after live prey, not carrion.

Lacewing larvae (also known as 'junk bugs') have been collecting trash for at least 110 million years, making them some of nature's oldest collectors. Thousands of species of lacewings can be found flourishing in tropical and temperate climates around the world.

The quills usually lie flat against the porcupine's body until they encounter a threat, at which point they “puff up” and erect their quills, swinging their spiny tails until the threat either leaves them alone or gets a sharp whack and a face, hand, or paw full of quills.

Primates that are known to throw are humans, bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, capuchins, certain gibbons and perhaps some baboons and Japanese macaques (although not rhesus macaques). A chimpanzee named Santino in a Swedish zoo was observed to stockpile stones to be used as missiles against visitors.

Animals like chipmunks and squirrels usually come to mind when we think of stockpiling food, but we wondered which other animals hoard, or cache, stockpiles of food before winter sets in. We found a few surprises, from head-biting moles to jerky-making ants.