A bird of prey is called a vulture.
A vulture is a bird of prey whose body can reach a wingspan of more than two meters and a weight of about 6.5 kilograms. This flock -forming animal has a bare neck and a bald head.
Vultures generally eat the meat of beings that have already died, although sometimes they can hunt and catch live prey . In any case, they are not great hunters since their claws are very short.
Its characteristics
These birds, which, depending on the species , can be part of the cathartid or accipitrid family group, have the ability to fly very high. Vultures use thermal currents to gain height and then glide as they search for carrion.
Because they are guided by sight and not smell, vultures feed during the day. They can detect food from several kilometers away and then, thanks to their fine beak, they have access to pieces of meat from almost the entire body of the animal .
There are different types of vultures.
Types of vultures
There are numerous types of vultures that exist, among which we can highlight the following:
- Bearded vulture , which can reach a length of up to 125 centimeters. It has the peculiarity that its head is not bald.
- African white-backed vulture , which is the oldest in the world. It can reach up to 98 centimeters and has a dark body, except for the back of its head, which is white.
- American black vulture , which measures a maximum of 68 centimeters in length. It is very dark, as its name already indicates, and is basically located in the United States .
Symbolic use of the term
In a symbolic sense, vultures are associated with cruelty and greed . That is why when a human being is greedy and seeks to exploit others for his own benefit, he is said to be a vulture.
For example: "I'm not going to work for this vulture anymore," "Be careful with Armando: the old man is a vulture," "Although my boss is a vulture, I can't quit since I need the job."
"The vulture" Butragueño
In the same way, we cannot forget that it is also used as a nickname for a Spanish footballer. We are referring to the Madrid-born Emilio Butragueño ( 1963 ), who was known as "The Vulture" and who played as a forward. He became one of the most important players of Real Madrid, so much so that he also gave his name to what was called the "vulture's fifth" , made up of him as well as other youth players of the team such as Miguel Pardeza , Míchel González, Manolo Sanchís and Rafael Martín Vázquez .
He debuted in the merengue club's first team in 1984 and from that moment on his career was meteoric. So much so that he won the Bronze Ball twice and is on the list of the 125 best soccer players in history according to FIFA .
Currently, Butragueño performs managerial duties at Real Madrid .
Venture capital fund
A vulture fund , finally, is a risk capital fund that acquires the debt of companies or States on the verge of bankruptcy, paying less than 30% of the nominal value.
Once the debt is acquired, it exerts pressure to collect 100% of said value, even through lawsuits.