Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/03/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This one is super!: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/Vulturefightw.jpg.html It is unbelievable how graceful they are in the air... Cheers Jayanand On Tue, Apr 1, 2014 at 9:29 AM, H&E Cummer <cummer at netvigator.com> wrote: > Hi Luggers, > First some information from Wikipedia: > > "These are large vultures, noticeably outsizing the closely related > White-backed Vulture, with which they often co-occur in the wild. Adults > are 85 to 103 cm (33 to 41 in) long, with a wingspan of 2.26 to 2.6 metres > (7.4 to 8.5 ft), and a weight that ranges from 6.4 to 9 kg (14 to 20 lb). > > Both genders look alike: mottled brown or black overall with a > whitish-brown underbelly and thin, dirty-white fluff covering the head and > neck. The base of the neck has a white collar, the eye is yellow or amber, > the crop patch deep brown. Silent as a rule, they become vocal at their > nest and when at a carcass, squealing a great deal. > > R?ppell's Vultures are very social, roosting, nesting, and gathering to > feed in large flocks. They can travel fast when needed, cruising at as much > as 35 kilometres per hour (22 mph), and will fly as far as 150 kilometres > (93 mi) from a nest site to find food. > R?ppell's Vultures commonly fly at altitudes as high as 6,000 metres > (20,000 ft). The birds have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD > subunit; this protein has a great affinity for oxygen, which allows the > species to absorb oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in > the upper troposphere. A R?ppell's Vulture was confirmed to have been > ingested by a jet engine of an airplane flying overAbidjan, C?te d'Ivoire > on November 29, 1973 at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft). During August > 2010 a R?ppell's Vulture escaped a bird of prey site in Scotland, prompting > warnings to pilots in the area to watch carefully due to the danger of > collision. > R?ppell's Vultures have several adaptations to their diet and are > specialized feeders even among the Old World vultures of Africa. They have > an especially powerful build and, after the most attractive soft parts of a > carcass have been consumed, they will continue with the hide, and even the > bones, gorging themselves until they can barely fly. They have > backward-pointing spines on the tongue to help remove meat from bone. > Despite their size, power and adaptations, they are not the most dominant > vulture in their range, which is considered to be the even larger > Lappet-faced Vulture. They were declared an endangered species by the > International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2012." > > They have nasty personalities which suits their ugly looks. Here they are > fighting: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/Vulturefightw.jpg.html > > > > And here is a series on the landing approach which I found so fascinating: > > Wings back > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/VultLandWgBkw.jpg.html > > Wings forward > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/VultLandWgForw.jpg.html > > Wings forward again > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/VultLndWgFor1w.jpg.html > > Ready for touch down > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Tanza2014/VultureLanding2w.jpg.html > > All taken with the XT 1 and the 50 - 200 zoom using continuous AF. > > Please look large, > > C&C always welcome > > Howard > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >