REMINISCENCES: Of Legal Eagles and Culture Vultures

The great majority of visitors to wildlife reserves are watchers of large mammals, especially so the celebrated carnivores, the pachyderms and the large or rare antelope. A much smaller subset of wildlife enthusiasts is comprised of the birdwatchers who take delight in even the smallest and drabbest of the feathered folk. The birders often spend many minutes (or even hours) deciphering the minutest of differences in plumage or behaviour in order to identify the correct species to which an LBJ (little brown job) belongs. Encountered even less often are the tree-and-flower-watchers – they do exist, and it is very worthwhile spending some time in their company. An awareness and appreciation of the splendour of the flora will enrich any trip into the wilderness.

While it is accurate to claim that mammal-watchers outnumber birdwatchers and other enthusiasts by a substantial amount, it would only be fair to add that mammal-watchers occasionally do stop for a sighting of a bird – provided that the bird is large and spectacular, such as a Southern Ground-Hornbill or a species of stork or heron.

Two categories of birds, particularly, will halt the peregrinations of any mammal-watchers through a park: the eagles and the vultures. Both kinds are very photogenic – they are large and have immense wingspans so that they are spied without difficulty and can be photographed over quite long distances. Furthermore, they can be followed quite effortlessly if they are spooked. They also occupy large ranges in a reserve – they can be encountered repeatedly on separate occasions. Their habit of soaring at some altitude also allows visitors to spot them often, especially when vultures circle above a recent kill or eagles patrol their territories.

Throughout human history, the eagles have managed their public relations splendidly well. We consider them as formidable hunters, powerful in the air and on the ground in equal measure. Their posture signals confidence, competence and intelligence. To us, they are majestic, so much so, that they are portrayed on the national flags of several nations (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Mexico, Albania, and Serbia, for example). Various species of eagle are also the national bird of a host of countries (such as the United States, Germany, Scotland, Serbia, Albania, Mexico, Panama, Indonesia and the Philippines, while the African Fish-Eagle is the national bird of Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

In heraldry, the eagle represents fortitude and action. Eagles appear on the ensigns and crests of countless individuals, families, associations and villages, towns and cities, amongst others. The eagle has always been used as a significant symbol – think of the emblem of the Roman Empire with its imperial Aquila, or think of Saint John the Evangelist, the most lofty and prophetic of the four evangelists of the bible.

The classical literature of the antiquity of western civilisation abounds with accolades for the eagle. Frequently, the eagle is described as the king of birds. In the Iliad, Homer considers the eagle as the most perfect of birds – certainly sent by Zeus as an omen. Following the Iliad and Odyssey, later Greek and Latin writers commonly cite eagle omens.

Often, the collective noun that is used for a group of eagles is ‘a convocation’ with its connotations of formality and purpose. We speak of excellent game-spotters as being ‘eagle-eyed’, while a person well versed in the law is called a ‘legal eagle’. All in all, the eagles have captured our human imagination; they have even won our respect.

In general, the same can not be said about vultures. Their reputation is lacklustre at best; at worst, their penchant for carrion has ensured labels such as soiled, polluted, foul, foetid and quarrelsome. Moreover, they are often perceived as being rather comical. If vultures were smaller, I doubt that an average visitor to the wilderness would bother taking a look.

Only a single Old World vulture* is elevated to the status of a national bird – in Serbia, both the eagle and the vulture share this illustrious nomination. In heraldry, the vulture represents rapacity, but it is chosen only very rarely as a symbol on important crests and insignia. Generally, vultures are given a bad press. A large group of these birds circling at altitude is referred to as a ‘kettle’; the company of several vultures on a kill is called a ‘wake’ – at least, so say the ‘culture vultures’.

Classical Greek literature is often unclear about the kind of large, predatory bird to which an author refers. In many instances, the bird could have been a vulture or an eagle. The ‘winged hound’ that Zeus sent to torment Prometheus may have been a vulture. The harpies too suggest a more vulturine disposition – they were incarnations of the gales of tempests and possessed the body of a great predatory bird, with the head and breasts of a young woman, whose hands ended in long, razor-sharp talons. Indeed, Ovid described them as human-vultures, brutal, ferocious and forbidding agents of punishment.

The only ‘vulture’ that seems to have escaped the disdain that is ingrained in ‘western culture’ for this group of birds is the Andean condor (a New World vulture*, quite different from the Old World vultures). The Andean condor is the only vulture depicted on the flag of a single Andean nation – Ecuador. However, the Andean condor does perch proudly on the coats of arms of Ecuador and several other South American states, including Argentina, Peru and Venezuela. The Andean condor also fares better as a national bird (namely of Ecuador, Chile, Colombia and Bolivia).

In the ancient civilisations of the Andean region of South America, the condor shouldered an important role in mythology and folklore. The mythology of various Andean cultures associated the condor with the sun-god – thus the Andean condor was regarded as a quasi-deity who was the potentate of the upper realm. Many Andean cultures revered this huge bird as a symbol of power and health – purportedly the bones and organs of the Andean condor retained medicinal powers. Sadly, to this day still, the rare Andean condor is hunted for the supposed curative benefits of parts of its body.

In several African cultures, vultures too are imbued with some positive attributes. Particularly in some South African cultures, such as the amaZulu, vultures are hunted, killed and traded as umuthi (traditional medicine). Particularly the heads of vultures are claimed to confer powers of clairvoyance, foresight and amplified intellect.

Both eagles and vultures are worthy of our attention (as are all species that still survive despite our misguided, rapacious exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants). Both are inexhaustibly intriguing in their structure, abilities and behaviour. Rightfully, both groups attract the attention even of non-birders.

Nevertheless, when we sing the praises of any humans or animals, it is just also to point out those moments in the lives of the performers that do not reflect glamorously on their prowess. A fair consideration of their lives must also include those times when they are not in full control of their look or their actions, when things go wrong, when they are not magnificent or resplendent. On several occasions, I have had the good fortune to witness instances of the appearance and behaviour of both eagles and vultures that have brought forth more than a brief giggle. These are large birds – their size (as it does in myself and other humans too) often betrays their attempts to appear regal, majestic, fierce.

*   The general term ‘vulture’ applies to large birds that principally scavenge their food from animal cadavers. Importantly, the deleterious, disease-causing bacteria present in carrion do not harm ‘vultures’ – in fact, these bacteria (otherwise very harmful to the majority of vertebrates) flourish in the intestines of these large scavenging birds.

A characteristic of the plumage of many vulture species leaves their heads (and often their necks too) covered only by very small down feathers. Consequently, these parts often appear naked or only very sparsely feathered. This lack of large feathers promotes convective heat loss from the exposed skin of the head (and neck) of vultures – heat loss that is vital since these birds often feed on carcasses at or near midday, exposed to blazing sunlight.

Old World vultures live on the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe, while the New World vultures and condors today exist in central and South America. Interestingly, Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight, whereas some species of New World vulture have a good sense of smell.

While the phylogenetic relationships of ‘vultures’ and birds of prey is in flux and await further, detailed research to discombobulate the ancestral relationships between several groups of these avian predators. What has been discovered is that Old World vultures are not closely related genetically to the outwardly similar New World vultures and condors. The similarities of form and habit shared by the two groups of vultures are due to convergent evolution (that is, adaptation to the demands and challenges of very similar life-histories), rather than stemming from an inheritance of a set of adaptations from a recent common ancestor.

Recent research seems to indicate that the Old World vultures are most closely related to the eagles, buzzards, kites and hawks. This large group of predatory birds shares a common ancestor with the New World vultures and condors, and both groups together then share a more distant common ancestor with all falcons.