Well, what kind of parrot is this “eagle”! (5 photos)

Here is one of the species of American vultures - the royal vulture (Sarcoramphus papa). It is called royal because of its bright outfit, since by the standards of a condor its dimensions are very modest, approximately three times smaller than the real king of the Andes.





The most unique thing about his lifestyle is his habitat. After all, at its core, this vulture, like all others, is a scavenger. What do scavengers need for a successful carefree life? Of course, open spaces. For example, steppes or mountains. Places without dense vegetation, where your meal will be clearly visible from above.



Our hero settled in the jungle. How to look for a corpse if it lies under the canopy of a dense tropical forest? That's right - no way. But, nevertheless, the royal vulture is a successful species that is far from extinction, especially due to lack of food.

What is the secret of this amazing bird? It's simple, he has a very developed sense of smell, which even from a height allows him to smell food. And this despite the fact that the Amazon jungle does not have large animals like elephants, rhinoceroses or buffalos, whose huge carcasses could produce a strong odor. It should be noted that birds, in general, do not have a highly developed sense of smell, and this is a kind of exceptional ability.





You are aware that vultures, eagles, hawks, and falcons are not always related birds. For example, one group of birds shares a common ancestor with parrots. And, looking at this “handsome”, you might think that these are vultures. But no. These are falcons. Falcons are not related to any other birds of prey.

The other common ancestor of the remaining raptors is the bird, which also gave rise to the descendants we now know as chickens. And, indeed, if you remember the fleshy outgrowths on the beaks of turkeys and the combs of roosters, and look at the beak of this handsome man, then there is a certain similarity.



But I'll blow your mind again. The thing is that American vultures, despite their similarity with Old World vultures, are not related. It is our vultures and eagles that have common ancestors with Galliformes.

But the ancestor of American vultures was a bird, which was also the ancestor of modern storks. It's hard to believe, but there are no arguments against DNA testing. As they say, you can’t erase genes with a rag ????



You might be interested in reading about the reverse story - about a parrot who wanted to become a vulture

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