Good international vulture awareness day! The event organized every year on the first Saturday in September presents these often misunderstood birds. These avians are not birds of prey. Instead, they are scavengers who play an important role in the ecosystem, eating the remains of dead organisms (called carognes) and preventing fatal pathogens from spreading. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, their stomachs have the same pH as the battery acid, which allows them to sterilize an animal carcass and its immediate environment of bacteria which cause both botulism and anthrax.
The size, power and unique colors of these powerful birds are presented below. (Click to extend the images in full screen.)
A turkey vulture (Aura cathartes) is on a position in the national reserve of the city of Rocks in Idaho. Turkey vultures are in fact linked to stork, not to birds of prey. Credit: NPS / Wallace Keck.A Balbuzard (left) and a black vulture (right) near their wings along the banks of the Potomac river in Virginia. Black vultures have a scope of 4.5 to 5 feet. Credit: NPS / Christopher Vuille-King. A black vulture is perching on a branch in the Great Falls Park picnic area in Virginia. Black vultures are more visual hunters than turkey vultures. Credit: NPS / Christopher Vuille-King. The turkey vultures distribute their wings, while being perched on a branch of trees in the national monument of the Capulin volcano in the New Mexico. They can travel up to 200 miles in a single day. Credit: NPS Photo.A black vulture rises above Chimney Rock in Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland. Credit: NPS Photo.A vulture of turkey in flight. Although threatening, turkey vultures are scavengers who do not kill their prey. Credit: NPS / Christopher Vuille-King.A black or crow vulture (CORAGYPES ATRATUS) flies during a demonstration in a wildlife park in Germany. Without natural enemies in adulthood, Raven Vultures can live around 25.5 years. Credit: Silas Stein / Picture Alliance via Getty Images. An 88 -day bearded vulture (Barbatus gypetus) Appointed Generl is shown before being released in the wild in the Berchtesgaden National Park in Germany. The reintroduction of this species of birds is part of an international project aimed at reintroducing the bearded vulture in the Alps. Credit: Peter Kneffel / Picture Alliance via Getty Images.Hundreds of Griffon vultures (Fulvus gyps) Cruise the soil while the others turn above, attracted by the “Muladar of Tiacuto”, a food site for the treasure birds near Nueno in the northeast of Spain where the carrion is distributed by the ornithological group of Huesca. Credit: Ander Gillenea / AFP via Getty Images.Vulture Cinereous (Aegypius Monachus) Flying in Bolu, Turkiye on July 3, 2025. Bolu is distinguished by one of the most prominent cities in Turkiye in terms of wild animals with its rich forests, its lush green meadows and its water resources. Many species from mammals to reptiles survive, while various species of predatory birds are also in the city, which has large natural areas. Credit: (photo of Alper Tuydes / Anadolu via Getty Images.
