the bearded vulture is a large old-world vulture found in parts of europe, asia, and africa. the majority of the bearded vulture’s diet consists of bones. small bones are eaten whole, while large bones are cracked open by the vultures, who drop them from great heights. the vultures are naturally a light off-white, but they dye themselves orange-red using clay. it’s theorized this is a status symbol, with the darkest-colored vultures being the highest ranking.

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