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Vulture Facts Vultures are big brown colored birds. The males weigh 4.4 - 5.3 pounds the females a little less. When they spread their wings the measurement from the tip of one to the other, the wingspan, is over 6 feet. When they are flying, their wings are held in a V in an upward angle from their bodies. This is different than the way Eagles fly. Eagles fly with their wings held out straight. The V shape their wings make when they fly is not how they get their name. They get their name from a Latin word, vellere, which means "to tear." They have bright red heads that are bald. It is good that their heads are bald so that when they stick their heads into carcasses, (dead bodies, yuck!), they don't get a lot of yucky stuff stuck in their feathers. When they fly, sometimes they pull their head and neck into the feathered ruff around their neck so that they don't loose a lot of body heat. When this happens it is hard to see their heads. What you can see is the edges of their wings that look like "fingers." Vultures don't have a voice box, a pharynx, like other birds. They talk to each other by making hissing sounds. They make this sound by pushing air up through their windpipe and beak. And They Have Babies!   >> 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