They have a shaved head, they keep predators away by vomiting stomach acid and chewed flesh at their attackers, they defecate and urinate on their own paws to cool off… – but, if it weren’t so disgusting, the barn vulture wouldn’t survive.
O barn vulture (Cathartes aura) lives in the Americas. Commonly described as “ugly”, this scavenger bird, also known as the “turkey vulture” has strange and “disgusting” ways of survival.
As , despite their large size – reaching up to 1.7 meters – they are also captured by other birds, including eagles, owls and falcons.
When they feel threatened or frightened, turkey vultures regurgitate a acidic, foul-smelling substance that burns a predator’s eyes and skin.
Their gastric acid is 100 times stronger than the acid found in human stomachs, helping birds neutralize toxins found in their dead meat diet (such as anthrax and botulism).
They are capable throw this vomit up to 3 meters away to distract and deter attackers.
However, vomiting also allows these birds to quickly relieve their body weight so they can fly and escape more easily.
Another (useful) peculiarity, but which, from an aesthetic point of view, is capable of impressing, is that the turkey vulture is bald.
The purpose of this feature is that, when feeding on dead animals, the blood and entrails do not get stuck in their feathers.
Another curiosity that alludes to “disgust”: Turkey vultures They defecate and urinate on their own paws to cool themselves in hot weather.
Since vultures’ digestive juices kill bacteria, the poop on their feet also acts as a antiseptic wash after being on top of carcasses.
Although they are social birds that live in groups, these vultures they don’t have a syrinx – the vocal organ of birds. Thus, instead of the common song of birds, the turkey vulture communicates through grunts and whistles.