Meaning & use
vulture bird
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A large bird of prey that feeds mainly on dead animals, often seen soaring or gathering at carcasses.
Grammar: Countable: one vulture bird, two vulture birds; the plural adds -s.
Patterns
- a vulture bird circling overhead
- vulture birds feed on carrion
From the cliff we watched a vulture bird circling slowly on the warm air.
Vulture birds gathered at the remains of the fallen deer within hours.
The guide explained that the vulture bird has a bald head to keep it clean while feeding.
Word forms
| plural | vulture birds |
|---|
Common combinations
- a vulture bird circling
- A vulture bird circling above the valley told us something had died.
- vulture birds gather
- Vulture birds gather quickly wherever there is carrion.
- a bald-headed vulture bird
- The bald-headed vulture bird is easy to recognize in flight.
- feed on carrion
- These vulture birds feed on carrion rather than hunting live prey.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- vulturine adjective
- Relating to or resembling a vulture.
Commonly confused: vulture bird or eagle? vulture bird or hawk?
vulture bird vs eagle
An eagle is a powerful hunter that kills live prey, while a vulture bird mainly eats animals that are already dead.
vulture bird vs hawk
A hawk is a smaller bird of prey that hunts live animals; a vulture bird is larger and feeds on carcasses.
Practice
Which sentence uses "vulture bird" correctly?
Choose one answer.
Vulture birds feed on dead animals, so circling above a dead deer fits. Hunting live prey describes a hawk or eagle, keeping one as a pet is unrealistic, and singing sweetly describes a songbird, not a vulture bird.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vulture bird”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.