Turkey vulture: The bird that vomits acid up to 10 feet and poops antiseptic onto its legs

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Turkey vultures deter predators by projectile vomiting gastric juices as acidic as battery acid that burns their attacker's skin and eyes. Why it's awesome: These scavenger birds have an unexpected way of keeping predators away — by projectile vomiting stomach acid and semi-digested meat at their attackers.

Turkey vultures live in a range of habitats, including subtropical forests, shrublands and deserts. They have bald heads so that when they feast on carcasses, blood and guts don't get trapped in their feathers. Like many other species of vulture, these birds feed on the remains of already dead animals, rather than killing prey themselves.

Despite their large size — with wingspans reaching around 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) — they're also preyed upon by other birds, including eagles, owls and hawks. But these vultures have a nifty escape mechanism. When they're threatened or scared, turkey vultures regurgitate a foul, acidic substance that can sting a predator's eyes and skin. Their gastric acid is as strong as battery acid and 100 times stronger than the acid found in human stomachs, which helps the birds neutralize the toxins found in their diet of decaying meat, such as anthrax and botulism.

These birds also use their bodily fluids in other ways. Turkey vultures defecate and urinate on their own feet to cool them down in hot weather. Because the vultures' digestive juices kill bacteria, pooping on their legs also works as an antiseptic wash after standing on carcasses. These scavengers find food using their sight and keen sense of smell. They fly low so they can detect the gasses produced by the early stages of decay in dead animals. According to a study published in the journal Ecosystem Services in 2022, vultures prevent tens of millions of metric tons of carbon emissions each year by eating carcasses before they decompose and release greenhouse gases.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/turkey-vulture-the-bird-that-vomits-acid-up-to-10-feet-and-poops-antiseptic-onto-its-legs

Very adaptive.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. So, our national emblem starting at noon tomorrow? NT

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2. I believe that would be fitting.

[hunter]

3. They are very intelligent playful birds and fun to watch.

We have a creek about a mile from our house where I walk our dogs. I had the dogs off leash when they chased away three vultures feasting on a dead animal.

A day later I heard our dogs fussing in the backyard and saw who I presume were the same three vultures perched in a tree watching the dogs. The vultures returned to the tree daily for about a week, as if to say, "We know where you live..."

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5. I went on a safari a few years ago.

One day we were driving and saw vultures circling overhead.

Followed them to the spot they were flying over, and there was a jackal tearing the meat off the carcass of a gazelle that was killed a few hours earlier.

Lions kill and take what they want, jackals do some cleanup. Vultures pick the bones. Insects clean it the rest of the way. By afternoon the animal is just a skeleton. Very efficient recycling. Every creature takes its turn.

[Silent Type]

4. I can remember as a kid lying in a pasture playing dead in hopes vultures would swoop down. They never did, thankfully.

[hunter]

8. You should have brought a ball...

?si=o8Kcy7yFv68sNuOO

[Silent Type]

9. So that's the secret.

[LastDemocratInSC]

6. They should be renamed as Ted Nugents.

[HAB911]

7. Oh yes, what's not to love? One of my favs