Undertoad Thursday May 2 11:26 AM5/2/2002: Shit-eating bird
This is the Egyptian vulture. Scientists believe that its beautiful orange beak and yellow face helps it to attract mates.
But it has a problem: that coloring is produced by beta-carotene, and the bird needs a ton of beta-carotene to produce good coloration.
The best place to find beta-carotene, it turns out, is in the feces of hooved animals. And so the bird scarfs down that dung.
The full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1946291.stm
Yelof Thursday May 2 12:16 PMIn India Vultures dying off, tradition of burial by exposure suffering.
"During the 1980s, 100 to 150 vultures would descend on a single carcass, stripping it to the bone within 20 minutes," said Prakash. "You would never find a carcass in the 80s, only a skeleton. Now the carcasses just rot and stink for days."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...uredieoff.html
Torrere Friday May 3 02:21 AMVery interesting article, Yelof.
I'd like to see the Towers of Silence someday, they and they practices associated with them sound pretty cool.
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