This is the bearded vulture . It survive in the mickle so it can look down on us all . It bankrupt bones for a living . It encourages its child to oppose to the death . And … it dyes its feathers . Why ? Because it count awesome , that ’s why .
Bearded vultures were once virtually driven to extinction because multitude from Europe to Africa were certain that they would pick up , carry away , and eat human children . That ’s not true , but it ’s easy to see why people made the mistake . Bearded vultures are big — most 18 pound . They have a roughshod disposition . They lie two egg , but only raise one chick . The larger and strong chick drives its sibling out of the nest to die . They ’re territorial . Each needs a few hundred kilometers to call its own , and will fight any other predator that come close . They come with chela and beaks that wait like something you would need a permit to carry around with you . They apply both their claws and their bill to use up bone .
When I say that they use their claws and snout to eat os , I do n’t mean , “ every part of the beast , include the bone . ” I imply bone . The bearded predator ’s diet is from 70 - 90 % os . This intend they do n’t have to compete for nutrient with other creature . The vulture look for invigorated kills , delay while the other beast strip flesh from the bone , and then swoops in . They can eat humble ivory whole . orotund os they carry up into the sky and fall on rocks , then pounce down to feed the bone marrow and the sherd . Occasionally they ’ll supplement their diet with small , whole animals , but for the most part , they live on skeleton .
And then there ’s the matter of their feather . Their plumage are black and white-hot . That ’s correct , white . Why are the feathers above pink ? At first researchers remember the chick ’s diet sometimes allowed it to produce carotenoid pigment , but those are n’t pigmented plume — they ’re stained plume . And , because the vulture eats clappers and not flesh , it ’s not blood staining the feathers .
Bearded vultures are the only birdie known to by design dye their feathers – and they be intimate the colors they choose . Though some vultures will stain their lighter feathers with brownish dirt or yellow dirt , when a piranha has access to dirt with “ iron oxide , ” it will deliberately fray the dirt into its feathers and preen for more than an hour . That ’s right , to look sufficiently blood - thirsty , this bird advisedly seeks out rust , and uses it to dye itself red , just because it looks cool .
Top simulacrum : Raoul Feignoux , Second ikon : Richard Bartz .
Source : The Function of the Cosmetic Coloration of Bearded Vultures ,
AnimalsScience
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