Egyptian Vulture: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Wings over Water · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. Faced with a huge ostrich egg, it picks up a pebble in its bill and throws it down again and again until the shell cracks. It prefers round stones.
2. Its white feathers often look rusty brown in the wild, stained by mud or iron-rich soil. Birds kept away from soil stay clean white.
3. Migrating birds can cover 500 km in a day. Some end up 3,500 to 5,500 km from their summer home, at the southern edge of the Sahara.
4. In ancient Egypt it was sacred and protected by the pharaohs' law. It became so common in the streets that people called it pharaoh's chicken.
5. In Béarn, in south-west France, it is called the Marie-Blanque, and a pass in the French Pyrenees, the col de Marie-Blanque, is named after it.

The quiz

1. How does the Egyptian vulture open a large ostrich egg?

• It rolls it off a cliff
• It pecks it with its bill
• It throws pebbles at it (correct)
• It sits on it until it breaks

It tosses a pebble at the egg again and again until it cracks.

2. Why do wild Egyptian vultures often look rusty brown?

• Their feathers are stained by mud or iron-rich soil (correct)
• They are still young
• They have been rained on
• They moult brown in winter

Mud or iron-rich soil stains their white feathers.

3. How far can a migrating Egyptian vulture travel in a single day?

• About 5 km
• About 50 km
• About 20 km
• About 500 km (correct)

Migrating birds can sometimes cover 500 km in one day.

4. What nickname did the Egyptian vulture get in ancient Egypt?

• The desert king
• Pharaoh's chicken (correct)
• The sun bird
• Nile eagle

Protected by law, it was common in the streets and called pharaoh's chicken.

5. What is named after the Egyptian vulture in the French Pyrenees?

• A river
• A village church
• A mountain pass (correct)
• A lake

The col de Marie-Blanque takes its name from the bird's local name in Béarn.

More about the Egyptian Vulture

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries