History Main / VileVulture

* ''Franchise/TheTransformers'': Doubledealer is a triple-changer who works for both the Autobots and Decepticons, utilizing his two alternate modes to trick them so they don't realize it). To the Autobots he appears as a self-propelled missile artillery vehicle, but to the Decepticons he appears as a mechanical bird of prey. Officially it's supposed to be a falcon, but even official publications point out that he looks far more like a vulture, in keeping with his backstabbing, mercenary nature.

* ''Ride/AmericaSings'': A pair of vultures, the Boothill Boys, were anthropomorphic vultures who worked as undertakers. They sang "The End of Billy the Kid" during the Wild West act of the show.

** Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's cassette minions, had a robot mode that resembled a mechanical condor.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Adrian "The Vulture" Toomes is a villain who stylizes himself as a vulture to rob banks and to kill Spider-Man.

!!Examples

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

-->'''Lone Gunslinger:''' There is some good news, though: the more of you that die, the better I eat.
-->'''Crowd:''' ''[gasp]''
-->'''Lone Gunslinger:''' [[LampshadeHanging I didn't say it was good news for you!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'': {{Subverted}}. Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy, and Dizzy initially make fun of Mowgli, but when they see that he's lonesome and in need of a sympathetic ear, they decide to cheer him up. They also help him and Baloo take on Shere Khan.
** Played straight in the [[Film/TheJungleBook2016 2016 remake]], as they instead shadow Shere Khan so he can lead them to food, and they are often used to mark his presence.

* ''Franchise/ToyStory'': In the special ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStoryThatTimeForgot Toy Story That Time Forgot]]'', the Battlesaurs toy line has a Pteranodon as The Cleric, who serves as an EvilChancellor. While not technically a vulture, his long beak and hunched stance definitely evoke the appearance of one.
* War of The Birds (Fuglekrigen i Kanøfleskoven): Fagin, a cruel and sinister vulture, is the film's main antagonist. He's responsible for killing the parents & siblings of Oliver, Olivia's parents, the mice's mother, and later Betty, Oliver & Olivia's caretaker (but not without losing an eye). He is feared by the birds of the forest and of the city and considers himself king of the birds. Throughout the film, Oliver & Oliva attempt to kill the vulture, but their plans often fail [[spoiler: due to Fagin's spy the Dove warning him about them. He is eventually killed in the final battle, after the dove stands up to him, after which both of them fall into a fire, started by Oliver, Olivia & the mice.]]

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': The Shansheeth are aliens that resemble vultures and they make their first appearance in ''Death of the Doctor''. [[spoiler: Their ultimate plan was to steal the TARDIS in order to avert death on a historical scale, regardless of effect to the timeline. Since they couldn't get the key to it from the 11th Doctor, they lied about his death so they could form a copy of the key by using a memory weave on his companions at his funeral.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The subject of several gags in ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'':
** One famous strip has some vultures gathered around an unseen corpse. One of them is wearing the guy's hat and coat and says mockingly "Hey! Look at me, everybody, I'm a cowboy! Howdy, howdy, howdy!"
** Another strip has a parched desert traveler crawling his way towards a pool of water. This prospect disappoints one vulture hovering above him, but a second vulture prepares to [[PianoDrop drop a piano on him]] before he reaches it.
** Another strip features two elderly men feeding birds at a park bench, commenting on the smaller birds eating their seed [[BlackComedy but wondering why two much larger birds nearby just stare at them]].
* One newspaper cartoon by Andrzej Mleczko depicted a vulture sitting on a branch, looking down at a dying rhino: "I hope I am not bothering you, sir, I am just waiting for you to croak."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Radio]]

-->'''John Humphries''': Do you deny, then, that you and your kind feast on dead bodies?\\
'''Vulture''': If you mean by that inflammatory language "Are the animals we consume dead?" then yes. Would you prefer it if they were alive?\\

* ''TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''

-->'''Vulture #1''': If you've finally found your laughing place...\\
'''Vulture #2''': How come you aren't laughing?

--> '''Robbie''': AAAH! I was just being dramatic! Quit it! [[OwMyBodyPart Ow, my face!]] VULTURE!!

[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': The Board of Directors are anthropomorphic vultures who help Scrooge with his finances and running his company. In the show, the vultures act extremely thrifty and disapproving of Scrooge's adventurous lifestyle.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'': Necky and [[MiniMook Mini-Necky]] are vultures that serve as an AirborneMook against the Kongs. Master Necky and Master Necky Snr are bosses in the first game while Krow is a boss twice in ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kong Quest]]''.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'': Necky and [[MiniMook Mini-Necky]] are vultures that serve as an AirborneMook against the Kongs. Master Necky and Master Necky Snr are bosses in the first game while Krow is a boss twice in [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddys Kong Quest]].

** In "Havana Wild Weekend", Mr. Burns, Lindsey Naegle, The Rich Texan, and Howard K. Duff VIII are the millionaires on "Vulture's Nest" who can provide funding and help with their business ideas and products to entrepreneurs. The Vultures can offer to take a percentage of the profits in return for investing money into the idea.

In real life, vultures are necessary for the ecosystem because the vulture removes carcasses that are infested with hazardous diseases. A vulture's urine is able to sanitize their food, cool the bird off on a hot day, and sanitizes the vulture's feet by neutralizing the harmful pathogens found on the carcass. Their stomach acid also neutralizes harmful pathogens and diseases such as rabies, cholera, botulinum, and anthrax. Their feathers are also too thick for bacteria and parasites to pass through and cause infections.

Vultures are also quite patient as they'll steer clear of larger, stronger carnivores. They'll also wait until a carcass has become "softer" through decay since their talons aren't strong enough to restrain prey, to lift prey, and their beaks aren't strong enough to puncture carcasses. At best, they'll eat the softer parts of a body first which are the [[EyeScream eyes]] and the [[AssShove anus]]. At worst, they will finish off dying animals if they are desperate enough for food and have no other option.

Compare and contrast CirclingVultures, in which the mere presence of vultures is treated as a sign that a character is doomed. It overlaps with FeatheredFiend for birds being as villains, and see CreepyCrows for another type of bird often portrayed with an unnerving or malevolent bent. It is also a subtrope of ScavengersAreScum, since vultures are seen as bad omens for targeting the dead or dying so they can eat them or steal from them.

-->'''Lone Gunslinger:''' There is some good news, though: the more of you die, the better I eat.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'': Subverted, the vultures, Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy, and Dizzy, were initially predatory towards Mowgli but change their mind and decide to cheer him up. [[spoiler: They also helped him and Baloo take on Shere Khan. However, it's played straight in the [[Film/TheJungleBook2016 2016 remake]], as they instead shadow Shere Khan so he can lead them to a food source and they are often used to mark his presence.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': Trigger and Nutsy, the Sheriff of Nottingham's vulture henchmen, assist him in making life difficult for the beloved outlaw. Nutsy is a subversion, as he's too stupid and good-natured to do anything terribly villainous, but Trigger plays it straight. However, unlike the Sheriff himself, the vultures are only PunchClockVillains and are just following orders.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'': The EvilChancellor, Zigzag, has a pet vulture named Phido. Phido apparently eats living meat and does attempt to eat the protagonist, Tack, at one point, but Phido is so [[ButtMonkey frequently abused]] by his master and other characters that you can't help but feel a little sympathy for him. Zigzag himself has a [[AnimalMotif vulture motif]], although his design is more AmbiguouslyHuman.

** Another strip cartoon has a parched desert traveler crawling his way towards a pool of water. This prospect disappoints one vulture hovering above him, but a second vulture prepares to [[PianoDrop drop a piano on him]] before he reaches it.

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

Compare and contrast CirclingVultures, in which the mere presence of vultures is treated as a sign that a character is doomed. It overlaps with FeatheredFiend for birds being as villains. It is also a subtrope of ScavengersAreScum since vultures are seen as bad omens for targeting the dead or dying so they can eat them or steal from them.

* ''TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons

* In ''Film/BeavisAndButtHeadDoAmerica'', Beavis and Butt-Head are lost in the desert and too dehydrated to move. The vultures start circling. The boys, even in their distress, are amused by the fact that two of the vultures are mating.

--> '''Crowd:''' ''[gasp]''
--> '''Lone Gunslinger:''' [[LampshadeHanging I didn't say it was good news for you!]]

* War of The Birds (Fuglekrigen i Kanøfleskoven): Fagin, a cruel and sinister vulture, is the film's main antagonist. He's responsible for killing the parents & siblings of Oliver, Olivia's parents, the mice's mother, and and later Betty, Oliver & Olivia's caretaker (but not without losing an eye). He is feared by the birds of the forest and of the city and considers himself king of the birds. Throughout the film, Oliver & Oliva attempt to kill the vulture, but their plans often fail [[spoiler: due to Fagin's spy the Dove warning him about them. He is eventually killed in the final battle, after the dove stands up to him, after which both of them fall into a fire, started by Oliver, Olivia & the mice.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': In the [[WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck Donald Duck]] short "The Flying Jalopy" the BigBad of the short is Ben Buzzard, the owner of an HonestJohnsDealership who sells Donald the titular [[TheAllegedCar Alleged Plane]] in the hopes that Donald will crash and get killed and Ben will cash in the life insurance he swindled Donald into signing among the purchase paperwork, and escalating to actively flying to the plane and trying to sabotage it when Donald performs a MidairRepair.

* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': The Shansheeth are aliens that resemble vultures and they make their first appearance in ''Death of the Doctor''. [[spoiler: Their ultimate plan was to steal the tardis in order to avert death on a historical scale. Since they couldn't get the key from the 11th Doctor, they lied about his death so they can form a copy of the key by using a memory weave on his companions.]]