Writing on the wall for vulture

Few birds have been revered, reviled or researched with as much fascination and intensity as the wrinkly-faced Egyptian vulture.

- With STUART WINTER

Pharaohs and priestesses worshiped this scavenging raptor as a deity and adorned ceremonial headdresses with its snowy white feathers and bejewelled images. Harming one was punishable with execution.

Vultures were also rooted in the language and writings of the Ancient Egyptians. Hieroglyphs depicting its profile on pyramid and temple walls and inscribed on papyrus leaves 4,000 years ago were eventually decoded by late 19th Century scholars and found to represent the A sound.