The Andean Condor spread its wings and flies high
Vultures tend to congregate in rock piles high up in the mountains, where they can carefully wash their hairless heads and comb their delicate haeze. In these hidden sanctuaries, Peter the Vulture has time to let the feathers dry slowly. To soar in the air rapids, the giant wings must be fully dried, and a small drop of water will affect its ability to fly. They are also careful to keep their head and neck clean, and baldness is also a hygienic adaptation that allows UV rays and dehydration to help disinfect the skin.
Don't look at the vultures perching together, eating, basking in the sun, mating and nesting still have to be done alone. Every other year, each long-term couple's spouse performs a slow and elegant romance that lasts for days or even weeks, and an old husband and wife may stay together for 50 years.
The fleshy crown of the eagle's head symbolizes power and status
The Condor Vulture is the largest bird of prey in the world, and peter the male vulture weighs 15 kilograms. Its head and neck are dark red with few feathers, but white feathers surround the base of the neck; while the feathers on its body are black, with white markings on the wings, which are more conspicuous than female eagles. The skin color of the condor's head and neck changes with mood and can be used as a tool of communication. During courtship, Peter's neck would change from dark red to bright yellow and would open, and it would stretch out its neck to approach the female eagles, showing their necks and breasts, and make a hissing sound; then it would show off its male sexual characteristics, that is, its wings that were more than 3 meters wide, showing wings with obvious white markings, or standing upright, swinging the dark red crown of flesh on the top of the flattened head. If that didn't work, Peter would dance elaborately and bark as he pleased the female vultures. Fortunately, its charm is endless, the female eagle accepts it, and the husband sings with the woman.
But even in the warm spring, the Andean Condor had to fight against natural conditions. The Peters were very picky about nesting locations and chose to face the cliffs to the east to use as little of the first rays of spring sunlight as possible. Condors rely on hot air currents rising along rock walls to help them rise in the thin air. The ends of its feathers bend upwards to provide greater upward force and to exclude turbulence. Peter, with his wide wingspan, easily balanced, was able to soar over the entire Andes for hours, during which time his wings flapped only a few times from time to time to save valuable energy. If a suitable updraft is found, it can rise to an altitude of more than 7,000 meters and find prey from several kilometers away. It can sometimes fly hundreds of kilometers in a day until it finds its target.
Condor has a wingspan of more than three meters
Peter hovered in the air, and the Black Vulture joined the condor in search of the next meal.
Turkey vulture, or red condor
The red-headed condor, also known as the turkey vulture, is also looking for food. But unlike condors and golden eagles, which use heat to soar smoothly at high altitudes, the red-headed condor uses a technique called variable soaring. It takes off from the still air of the hill and crosses the so-called thin shear layer into the fast air current, so that the speed of flight also increases, and a rotation makes the flight speed faster again. The red-headed vulture finally descended into the still air and returned to its original take-off position, but it expended very little effort and gained a great deal of energy.
This energy-saving approach of the American Vulture was borrowed by Air Force pilots, and this is the flying action known as "hairpin bend". In order to successfully complete the action, the pilot must first figure out the direction of the wind, and then dive and accelerate to the right to complete the action. The starting speed is 100 kilometers per hour, 130,160, at which point the pilot will pull up the nose, exposing the belly to the wind blowing down from the top of the mountain, and then unfold the hairpin bend here. When the glider returns to the starting point of the action, the speed will reach 170 to 180 kilometers per hour, the altitude is about the same, and the flight speed should be slightly accelerated.
Hairpin bend road
In fact, birds of prey use millions of years of invisible energy sources, they are nature's most skilled high-altitude stuntman, and this is how the red-headed vulture searches for prey in the air for hours. Beneath them is a world of vagaries, with building-sized ice breaking off glaciers. Sometimes, deep valleys and glacier crevices trap careless mammals and birds and offer a meal to the king of scavengers. The red-headed vulture is waiting for this moment. The Condor condor is superior, and Peter observes the other red-headed condors gathered together to find carrion that is farther away.
However, the grey fox was the first scavenger to arrive at the scene. Animals that survive the winter are thin and hungry, and the competition is fierce in order to grab food to eat. The gray fox was scrambling to eat the carcass of the original camel, and it was not revealed until the snow melted. Foxes had to eat quickly, and the Andean condors outnumbered the foxes in size and number, and they quickly forced themselves into them to eat. But the Black Vulture pounced on the corpse first, and it had to eat as much as possible before the Condor Vulture arrived.
Larger black vulture
There are many other competitors here, but the order of eating dead bodies is strict. Gray foxes may obey the orders of their companions, but they do not dare to rob the black vultures. The table manners of the Condor are not as elegant as those of condors. But only when Peter was confirmed to be absolutely safe would he fly to the body. Peter the Condor came unhurriedly and with a big swing. The other birds responded exactly to Peter's wishes, the Caracalla eagle and the black vulture retreated in a matter of time, the red-headed condor flew away, and the female vulture gave way to the king of the birds.
Peter is the king here, and the other birds are only subservient. When the Condor vultures enjoy their meals, the larger black vultures, like the red-headed condors, do not dare to bother. The Andean Condor was the largest bird in the world, and the body of the fox was no match for these birds, and now Peter was the master of the feast.
Vultures scramble for food scene
Other male Condors also came, but this group of terrible predators distributed the corpses in a simple and strict order: the higher-ranking ones ate first, and ate the most. Male vultures tend to be the first to arrive, with a flamboyant crown of flesh on their heads illustrating their high-class status, while female vultures come to feast later, and the tan young vultures are at the end of the pecking order.
Everyone was organized and aware of their place in the group.
Peter and his newlywed wife ate side by side and were very happy. When they eat, there are always other members standing guard. The Caracalla eagle flew away, and the black vulture could only wait patiently or pick up the debris that the condor had fallen.
But in fact, in front of many prey, the tall Peter is not as good as the hungry fox. Don't look at the vultures with vicious faces and cruel movements, but their beaks are small, their claws are not much strength, and they are almost invincible in front of the real killer, but the king's wordlessness makes the opponent retreat. Although the opponent fox is small, it has the same simple weapon that the opponent fears, sharp teeth.
However, it is the black vulture that dares to commit trouble, not the fox with superior weapons.
But the fox saw the disturbance of the birds and took the opportunity to attack the vultures and bully their old opponents.
Now Peter, who ate first, had the upper hand because it had three pounds more in its pouch and was therefore more clumsy and passive. Even when it is in good shape, it is difficult to take off easily, and it is even more difficult to compete with the fox at the moment.
Finally, With the strength of his wings and a little luck, Peter managed to take off and get rid of the fox's entanglement.
The king fled...
This article was originally created by the headline number "Hu Qing" and first published in today's headlines. Please indicate the source of the reprint.