Co-Prophets Customs of the Alimoche

2002/04/25 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

White vultures have two special characteristics: the yellow color of the face and the custom of eating sheep's stools. According to an article published in the journal Nature, researchers at the biological center of Doñana have shown a close relationship between both characteristics.

Coprofagia is not a behavior observed in birds. It can be quite dangerous because the concentration of microorganisms causing infections in the feces is very high and are not very rich in basic foods. However, in ungulated excrements, a fairly high concentration of carotenoids has been observed. As birds cannot synthesize carotene, they should take it from food. Vultures eat stools to get this vitamin.

In the research four vultures that live in the zoo of Jerez have been used. After four months of previous meat feeding, the diet was changed and fed with cow excrement for 10 days. In the end, the concentration of carotenoids in blood was much higher than at first.

Scientists know that the carotenoid that is left in the body is in the skin and gives it yellow color. Now it is believed that the reason that the alimoche is yellow is that.

It seems that white vultures use the yellow color of the face as a symbol of good health when finding a partner. In this way, it means that the feces are healthy enough to cope with the infections that can occur when eating.