![large birds that mostly eat carrion large birds that mostly eat carrion](https://thewhiskerchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/turkey_vulture1.jpg)
Currently, the white-backed vulture is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. When the predators die, the vultures come to eat the carrion and ingest the poison as well. In a bid to protect their crops and livestock, farmers have misused poisons, like Furadan, to kill predators. The main culprit appears to be poison, though habitat loss is another contributing factor. Once considered relatively stable, the population of these vultures has dropped severely over the past few decades. Only The Top 1% Can Ace our Animal Quizzes Think You Can? Take Our Brand New A-Z-Animals Birds Quiz
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True to its name, the white-backed vulture has white feathers along its back. Like most vultures, the white-backed prefers carrion. This large bird is native to Africa and breeds in the savannah, laying typically only one egg per year. The white-backed vulture is an old-world vulture, so named because its habitat does not extend into the “new world,” or the western hemisphere explored and colonized by Europeans. White-backed Vulture ( Gyps Africanus) The white-backed vulture has a wingspan that can reach more than 7 feet In fact, the largest vulture species are bigger than all eagles, hawks, and falcons! Let’s take a look at these massive birds by counting down the top ten largest vultures alive today. However, their unique characteristics and massive size set them apart from nearly all other birds of prey. Hollywood has used the vulture’s peculiar profile as an effective villain in old animated movies, and they are generally not considered a desirable animal, much like a crow or raven.
![large birds that mostly eat carrion large birds that mostly eat carrion](http://www.wingsovercolorado.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Southern-Caracara.jpg)
By its simplest definition: a vulture is a bird of prey that feeds on carrion (meat of dead animals).