I have recently seen a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) with an odd beak. It was seen in a polluted mangrove area near Rio de Janeiro. Its beak was longer and curvier than of others. So this intriguingly-shaped beak made me think of the reasons that some individuals would devolop and survive into adulthood with malformed beaks in general.
I have no idea; however, malformation of the crocodile snout is often due to temperature of incubation of the eggs. Of course, it can also be due to injury.
Beak and feather disease can affect the beak and feathers of some psittacines (parrot) species but I'm not sure about vultures. This disease does also result in high death rates among the infected. It may be due to some kind of trauma; it is amazing what a wild animal can recover from.
Hi Lorian,
Maybe this paper or some of his references will help you. The problem is it is in Spanish.
http://huitzil.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/HUITZIL-2013-14175-78.pdf
Thank you all for your answers. I'm sorry it took me so long to answer back. I have found many references related to your pointers, so thank you.
Best regards.
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