Will eating vulture brains help you do better on a school test? Many kids in Africa seem to think so. But that’s no good for vultures. Because of vulture-related superstitions like this one, many of the birds are going extinct!

Many Africans believe vultures have unusual powers. That’s because the birds seem to know just when a creature dies. Vultures swoop down on decaying animals and eat them. In turn, people eat vultures—their brains, eyes, and tongues. Some even sprinkle vulture parts around their houses. Others bury vulture heads under their doors. They think doing these things will help them guess test questions, win at gambling, or keep evil spirits away.

In 2015, four of Africa’s 11 vulture species were listed as endangered. That’s bad news. At the same time, it makes perfect sense. The birds make great targets for poachers (people who hunt illegally). Selling just one dead vulture can give a poacher enough money to live on for many months!

It’s easy to tell when a group of vultures (called a committee, volt, or wake) has been killed by poachers. Researchers walk along the African ground. They come upon a circle of dead vultures. Every bird in the group is missing its head. In these cases, poachers poisoned the birds. First, the poachers put pesticides inside the carcass of the dead animal the birds were feeding on. The birds died right after eating. Then poachers took their heads to sell.

Usually, killing vultures this way would earn someone a stay in prison. But it isn’t like that in certain African countries. In these places, medicine-makers use vulture parts all the time. Poachers trade the birds—right out in the open!

What will happen if Africa runs out of vultures? Researchers wonder. What will happen to the waste vultures usually eat? For now, researchers keep a close eye on the African sky. Will it soon be empty of vultures?