Bearded Vultures Dye Themselves A Reddish-Brown Color Using Rusty Water Or Damp Red Soil, But Scientists Still Aren’t Sure Exactly Why
Vultures are often seen as some of nature’s most unappealing creatures. With their wrinkled skin, large, hunched bodies, and bald heads, they are the complete opposite of beauty and glamor. Their scavenging habits don’t really help their reputation either.
Most vultures’ looks may be off-putting, but bearded vultures, also known as lammergeiers, are brightly colored, making them a lot more attractive to the eye.
They have dark, glossy wings and long, thin goatees. Their heads, chests, and legs are a vibrant hue of reddish-brown.
Interestingly enough, these birds dye themselves that shade by bathing in rusty water or rubbing damp red soil on themselves, effectively covering their feathers in iron oxide.
They are the only birds known to color themselves on purpose, and it is still unclear exactly why they do that.
Like other vultures, lammergeiers feed on the remnants of the dead. However, they eat bones rather than flesh.
They can swallow small bones whole. With larger ones, like femurs and ulnas, the birds will fly high into the air and drop them onto rocks to break them up.
Scavenging for bones is a much cleaner process than feeding on the guts and blood preferred by other vultures.
Still, lammergeiers are exposed to filth and bacteria, which is thought to be why they engage in “cleansing” rituals.
ondrejprosicky – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual vulture
One theory that explains why lammergeiers color themselves is that the iron oxide fends off harmful microbes and prevents them from spreading the bacteria all over their nests.
After returning to their nests, vulture parents have been seen rubbing their newly washed chest feathers on their eggs and little ones, perhaps to pass on the protection from germs and give them a better chance of survival.
Another theory states that the coloring is a display of strength and helps exert dominance. A bird’s redness might indicate its knowledge of local iron sources since the sulfur springs rich with iron oxide are hidden deep in the mountains. Only the most resourceful vultures are able to locate them.
Lammergeiers are found throughout mountainous habitats in Europe, Asia, and Africa. They can be spotted perching on cliffs or soaring at great heights over gorges and ridges, on the prowl for carrion below. They are also solitary nesters. They build large stick nests on sheltered ledges of rock cliffs.
During breeding season, the female will lay one to two eggs, sometimes even three. The eggs must be incubated for around 55 to 60 days.
The male and female take turns incubating the eggs, constructing the nest, and caring for the young.
After hatching, usually, only one baby bird will survive because of the aggression between siblings. When it is around 15 to 16 weeks old, the surviving hatchling will be ready to leave the nest.
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