I've been updating some of my older birds to use the latest renderers... it's a pretty big job considering I've created over a 1,000 different species... here's my take on the Egyptian Vultures in Iray. It seemed like a good choice to post since Vultures fit a Halloweenish theme. The Egyptian Vulture is the first ever recorded bird ever to be protected by law. The Egyptian Pharaoh felt a kinship to this vulture and feeling that their job as natural cleaners was very important to the health of his kingdom, he forbade anyone to kill this bird. This crime was punishable by death. After this ruling, the bird came to be called "Pharaoh's Chicken." At least five different species of vulture (neret) lived in ancient Egypt. The vulture was also a symbol of the goddess Mut, as well as Isis and Hathor. The bird also served as a symbol of the feminine, often in opposition to the scarab who signified the male principle. This vulture flies with more wing beats than most vultures, but takes off much more gracefully, as it is built lighter and smaller. Once gliding, the bird holds its wings flat, shifting them very little. The bird possesses great endurance, and is able to fly up to 70 kilometers in search of food. The Egyptian Vulture is declining in large parts of its range, often severely. In Europe and most of the Middle East, it is half as plentiful as it was about twenty years ago, and the populations in India and southwestern Africa have collapsed entirely. In the case of India, this apparently is attributable to the widespread use of the NSAID Diclofenac. Many famers poison vultures believing they promote disease—in fact, vultures do the opposite by cleaning up potential sites for diseases to spread. Rendered in Iray without postwork. Credits: Shaaramuse's High Coast Canyon,