King Vulture in flight - Photo by Plucky Photography

If it smells as if something died…a flock of vultures must be around.

Most likely, you have seen a flock of vultures upon a time. You may recognize those big birds fairly easy; they tend to rest on the ground or perch on a tree. They often extend their wings to sunbathe them. The purpose behind that posture is to dry their feathers and balance their temperature; moreover, it helps to eliminate infections created by parasites and bacteria. In Costa Rica, we can find four different kinds of vultures. The famous Black vulture (Coragyps atratus), the Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), the King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) with its majestic white plumage and multicolored face, and the Yellow-lesser vulture (Cathartes burriovianus) which is fairly common in the north of Costa Rica, occasionally fly the South Pacific’s sky.

King Vulture in flight - Photo by Plucky Photography

Even though they also eat eggs and other small animals, these birds have specialized in the scavenger diet. Yes, if it stinks as if something died, there is a good chance you will see a flock of Turkey vultures flying around the road kill. They have a well-developed sense of smell; therefore, they can sniff their next meal from a mile away. Of course, they are not the only ones with a great sense of smell; we heard that a King vulture in Corcovado, found a death sloth wrapped in a plastic bag buried 5 cm deep by following the odor.

Black Vulture - Photo by Brian Nice

In general, all the scavengers’ species share one specific quality; a bomb proofed digestive system because they are able to metabolize the carrion so fast that they are immune to all kinds of deadly bacteria. Currently, their resistance to the anthrax bacteria is under investigation, bacteria that is a potential threat to humans.

Overall, it seems like vultures will ever need Alka-Seltzer.