Hardly a dainty eater. The African white-backed vulture squeals and squabbles aggressively over its meals as it contends with other vultures. After eating, it retires to a nearby water hole to bathe together with its fellows. The most common vulture in Africa, it breeds in loose colonies on trees. But its numbers are declining at an alarming rate due to loss of habitat, accidental and intentional poisoning, and high demand among traditional healers who use its body parts in witchcraft and juju practices.