This is Bird Note.

Circling silently above the earth on broad black wings,

vultures need little introduction.

We know them as nature's cleanup crew,

dining undead and decaying animals.

A unique range of adaptations means they can feast on what's off limits for many other

organisms.

By the time vultures make a meal of carrion, bacteria have already started the process of breaking

down the carcass.

This releases chemicals that are toxic for most creatures, but not the vulture.

Like us, they have bacteria on their skin and faces and in their intestines.

But theirs are heavy-duty, flesh-eating fusobacteria, and highly toxic,

Clostridia, to name but two.

Once the dead flesh is ingested, immensely powerful acids in the highly toxic, Clostridia, to name but two.

Once the dead flesh is ingested, immensely powerful acids in the vulture's gut begin

digesting the flesh so thoroughly that they even destroy the prey's DNA.

But this dynamic digestive system destroys only some toxic microbes.

It filters out others and concentrates them in the intestines.

Vultures not only tolerate this deadly bacterial brew, but appear to put it to work,

extracting nutrients from food.

In other words, they use bacteria from the food they eat to help them digest the food they eat.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

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