Even when they’re not acting as Lima’s environmental defenders, Black Vultures are fascinating birds!

Vultures are scavengers that feed primarily on carrion (science for ‘dead things’). They’re also known to feed on eggs, newborn animals, and human trash! Due to their propensity for eating things that make most animals sick, vultures have one of the strongest stomachs in the world, with gastric pH levels similar to that of battery acid.

Black Vultures in particular are quite lazy. They’ve got keen eyesight, but unlike other scavengers like the Turkey Vulture that share their habitat, they have a poor sense of smell. Rather than evolving a better sense of smell, Black Vultures decided they’d just hang around other vultures and let them sniff out the food instead. Often, Turkey Vultures will detect a meal, only to be immediately chased away by Black Vultures which have followed it to the carcass.

If I’m completely honest, vultures are pretty gross. They defecate on their own legs as a way of regulating bodily temperature, and will vomit as a defence mechanism if they feel threatened (and their stomachs are so acidic that this can literally burn whatever is threatening them). However, it’s important to recognise that like all animals, they play a vital role in the ecosystem – namely eating dead animals before they become a hot-bed of nasty bacteria. Vultures have evolved to be able to eat just about anything, and this is an underrated skill when it comes to the prevention of disease.

In 2016, the Black Vultures of Lima featured in an environmental campaign to raise awareness for the city’s waste disposal problems. You can read about it here!

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Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), Lima, Peru