Vultures are carnivores and scavengers that mostly feed on the carcasses of recently dead animals. Vultures can be seen swooping over the Savannas, hunting for carcasses and sometimes even following ungulates on their regular migrations. Scraps from human homes are also eaten by vultures. Vultures, on the other hand, are specialized 'eating of the dead.' While most birds of prey feed on live food, Vultures are specialized 'diners of the dead.'
At the start of the dry season, the White-backed Vulture breeds. They breed in loose colonies of two to thirteen birds in savanna trees in west and east Africa. Vultures usually only have one partner every year. Female Vultures lay one egg at a time in a platform nest built in trees or cliffs from leaves and sticks. It's possible that the same nest will be utilized for several years.
Vultures are usually solitary creatures, but while circling prey, they will form swarms. Vultures have the ability to fly at speeds of up to 48 km/h (30 miles per hour). Vultures are high-flying birds, with the world's highest flyer, the Ruppell's Vulture, reaching a height of 37,000 feet. Vultures can fly for an extended period of time without tiring because they glide on thermal updrafts, which provide them with a "free lift."