Oh Oh! Look Out For Raptors, Fellow Fish!.

Vultures Live Vultures live almost everywhere. They live on the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, North America and South America. And they're not all the same! The ones who live in North and South America are called New World Vultures. The rest are called Old World Vultures. In some ways they are the same , but in many ways they are not. The Old World Vultures are like other Birds of Prey, or Raptors as scientist call them, in the way their feet are shaped. Birds like Eagles and Falcons and Hawks have very powerful claws called talons. They have a back claws that are like our thumbs, they can move them to help them pick things up. These back claws are called the hallux. It helps them hunt. New World Vultures have a different kind of hallux. Their's is small and raised up from the foot. Some Vultures in the New World are not able to close their feet as the other Raptors do when they use their feet, talons and hallux to pick up their food. Some New World Vultures are flat footed. Even though they are different, New World Vultures are still Raptors because they eat meat. They have a powerful hooked beak that allows them to tear meat apart. Their powerful beaks can crush bones and cut through muscle and skin. This is true of other Raptors. Scientists have looked at the DNA of New World Vultures and found out that they are related to New World Storks. Some Animals, like Humans came from other continents to North and South America. Even though the Vultures of the New World are a lot like Vultures from the Old World, they were not related. New World Vultures did not come form other continents. Old World Vultures evolved on some Continents from other Raptors, while New World Vultures in North and South American continents were evolving from other Birds like Storks. It is amazing that they look and act a lot alike even though they come from different families of Birds! New World Vultures are like Storks in some ways. Both have very "distinct" thigh muscles. The intestinal tracts, are both coiled in patterns. This is not true in the bodies of Hawks or other Raptors. I also learned why Vultures live here at The Sanctuary! Vultures Live Here   >> You Are Visiting Kind Kids, a Fun Part of Kind Planet. For safe surf and educational information please go to Teachers and Parents Search Kind Kids