[4] Vultures have been observed to hunch their bodies and tuck in their heads in the cold, and open their wings and stretch their necks in the heat.

In the late 20th century, some ornithologists argued that New World vultures are more closely related to storks on the basis of karyotype,[10] morphological,[11] and behavioral[12] data.

[16][17][18] There was then an attempt to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order, Cathartiformes, not closely associated with either the birds of prey or the storks and herons.

[19] The Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks.

The 16 species in 9 genera are: The New World vultures and condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas belong to the family Cathartidae.

They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their crops bulge, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food.

Contrary to some accounts, they do not "projectile vomit" on their attacker in defense, but to lighten their stomach load to ease take-off.

[24] In various regions of Africa, the dynamic interplay of vultures and predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals significantly influences the continent's food web.

[25] Traditionally, vultures are known to bide their time, patiently observing from a distance or high in the sky as predators bring down their prey and commence feeding.

New research has revealed that these birds can, in addition to sight, respond to auditory cues indicative of potential foraging opportunities.

This daring strategy, while high-risk, underscores the fierce competition and survival instincts prevalent in the harsh realities of the African wild.

[27] New World vultures also urinate straight down their legs; the uric acid kills bacteria accumulated from walking through carcasses, and also acts as evaporative cooling.

It is suspected that they died after eating the corpses of three elephants that were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching activity by circling above dead animals.

[38][39][40] In Ancient Egyptian art, Nekhbet, a mythological goddess and patron of both the city of Nekheb and Upper Egypt[41] was depicted as a vulture.