Jaymie Smeya, age 10, of Phoenix, Ariz., for his question:
Is there a bird called pharaoh's chicken?
Yes there is such a bird, though he does not live in the Americas. He is related to our turkey vulture, who is a rather ugly bird and usually unpopular because he happens to be a carrion eating scavenger. Pharaoh's chicken is the Egyptian vulture. He is a large white bird and we are told that in his home territory his garbage collecting talents are much appreciated.
Most of us think of the vultures as shabby, repulsive birds that gorge themselves on dead bodies and decaying meat. It's hard to imagine a handsome white vulture who is welcomed almost everywhere he goes. But such a bird is the pharaoh's chicken. He also is called the Egyptian vulture, though he ranges through other parts of Africa, through southern Europe, the Middle East and parts of India.
The pharaohs, of course, were fabulous kings of ancient Egypt, when almost everything in the land belonged to the king. The Egyptian vul¬ture, alias the pharaoh's chicken, lived in harmony with humans, way back in the early days when people first settled along the great River Nile. When animals died out in the fields, he and his kinfolk descended from the sky and quickly disposed of the garbage. Often they visited the villages and devoured refuse left in the streets. In those days, people appreciated his role in nature's scheme of things.
Other vultures perform their useful duties throughout Africa, Europe and Asia. The largest bird in the Old World is the European vulture, a black monster whose wings spread six feet wide. The Egyptian vulture has a wing spread of five feet and his snow white plumage is tipped with black on the wings. Most vultures have bare heads and necks and the naked skin may be red or some other vivid color. The handsome Egyptian vulture has a neck ruff of white feathers, with bare yellow skin on his head and throat.
In parts of India, he often lives near villages and the people depend on him to collect and dispose of their garbage. To us, this may seem like a rather sloppy way of life. But unlike human garbage collec¬tors, pharaoh's chicken never goes on strike for higher wages. What's more, he drives no fuel consuming truck and he does his work very quietly.
Like most large vultures of the Old World, the parents build a shaggy lone nest in a tall tree. It is a huge, cup shaped structure of sticks, lined with leaves and bits of skin. There is one large egg and the female sits on it for six weeks or so. Both parents feed the young chick and he does not leave home until he is about four and a half months old.