{"id":360981,"date":"2026-01-09T13:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/360981\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:57:10","slug":"friendly-vulture-majestically-shows-off-his-massive-wings-to-man-who-feeds-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/360981\/","title":{"rendered":"Friendly Vulture Majestically Shows Off His Massive Wings to Man Who Feeds Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making an animal friend can take time and patience, but with the right strategy (and lots of treats), anyone can do it. Whether it’s becoming BFFs with the neighbor’s dog<\/a> or feeding the birds who frequent your backyard, there are so many beautiful ways to connect with animals.<\/p>\n

Just ask Tom Ryan! He recently made a social media account just to share videos of his birdy BFFs, with just one catch: they’re vultures! The black vultures have become his ‘pals’ thanks to daily feedings and bonding, but not even @tboneryan2 gets tired of their majestic looks\u2014especially when they show off their wings in the most stunning display, like one of the birds did on January 4.<\/p>\n

Wow, these black vultures<\/a> are such beautiful birds! It must have been a shock, and maybe even a bit creepy, when Tom first spotted them perched on his fence, but now they’re beloved visitors and friends. Of course, they always expect a snack when they stop by!<\/p>\n

“The bird was like ‘He’s going to love this,'” @shellchi commented. He knows exactly how to ask for a bite to eat! Even if sunning its wings has an important purpose (more on that below), it’s also incredibly captivating to see. I know I was stunned the first time I ever saw a bird doing this, and I can’t be the only one.<\/p>\n

Related: Woman Witnesses Tragic Mystery of a Vulture ‘Funeral’ and It’s Awe-Inspiring<\/a><\/p>\n

Hearing how Tom talks to his birdy friends<\/a> could warm anyone’s heart. It’s easy to see what a special connection they have! @Glyterpixie shared, “I’m crying over how proud he is and you telling him how pretty he is.” Everyone deserves that kind of affirmation!<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve a special connection with this one,” Tom explained. “This is the first one I fed over 7 years ago. It was very cold and very raw out, and I put a pile of fresh ground chuck out for him, and the love affair was on!”<\/p>\n

Vultures: Scavengers in the Sun<\/p>\n

It’s wonderful to see all the love these birds are getting in the comments, especially since vultures have gotten a bad rap. True, they are scavengers with a less-than-glamorous diet, but they are also smart and fascinating animals<\/a> who play an important role.<\/p>\n

Commenter @jordanthegraywitch loved to see the “vulture doing a little sunbathing!” She also agreed, “They are so misunderstood and are such necessary creatures for our ecosystem.”<\/p>\n

But why do they display their wings<\/a> like this? Vultures sunbathe to soak up the warmth and dryness in the air, but they also do this to kill parasites that may be on their feathers.<\/p>\n

The National Audubon Society explains, “Exactly how sunlight might kill\u00a0lice<\/a> remains\u00a0unclear, but scientists now believe that short\u00a0blasts of heat,\u00a0UV radiation, or some combination of both from the sun’s rays is likely the cause.” What clever birds!<\/p>\n

Tom and his vulture friends have a one-of-a-kind relationship that’s so fascinating to watch. Only time will tell what special moments they’ll share in the future.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc36<\/a>SIGN UP to get \u201cpawsitivity\u201d delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends<\/a>\ud83d\udc3e\ud83d\udc3e<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by PetHelpful<\/a> on Jan 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News<\/a> section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Making an animal friend can take time and patience, but with the right strategy (and lots of treats),…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[138420,90,138421,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-360981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-black-vultures","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-tom-ryan","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}