Lappet-faced Vulture
A species of Lappet-faced Vulture Scientific name : Torgos tracheliotos Genus : Lappet-faced Vulture
Lappet-faced Vulture, A species of Lappet-faced Vulture
Botanical name: Torgos tracheliotos
Genus: Lappet-faced Vulture
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Nigel Voaden 
Description
The lappet-faced vulture is a huge species, ranking as the longest and largest winged vulture in its range, behind the closely related cinereous vulture, although some co-occurring Gyps vultures tend to be heavier on average, especially the Cape vulture and Eurasian griffon. This species measures around 95–115 cm (37–45 in) in body length, with a wingspan of 2.5–2.9 m (8.2–9.5 ft). Among the standard measurements, the wing chord is 71.5–82.5 cm (28.1–32.5 in), the tail is 33–36 cm (13–14 in) and the tarsus is 12.2–15 cm (4.8–5.9 in). The bill, at up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long and 5 cm (2.0 in) deep, ranks as one of the largest of any accipitrid, although a reported culmen length of 7.2 cm (2.8 in) is slightly less than the culmen length of the cinereous vulture. Wild vultures of the subspecies T. t. tracheliotus range from 4.4 to 9.4 kg (9.7 to 20.7 lb) and in East Africa, average only 6.2 kg (14 lb). On the other hand, captive vultures of the larger T. t. negevensis subspecies weighed 6.5–9.2 kg (14–20 lb) in males and 10.5–13.6 kg (23–30 lb) in females. Overall, the lappet-faced vulture is blackish above with a strongly contrasting white thigh feathers. The black feathers on the back of African vultures are lined with brown, while Arabian birds are dark brown rather than black above. The underside can range from pure white to buff-brown. Like many vultures, it has a bald head. The head coloration can range from reddish in southern Africa to dull pink in more northern Africa to pink on the back of the head and gray on the front in the Arabian Peninsula. The combination of the colorful head and fleshy folds on the side of it are distinctive. The bald head of the lappet-faced vulture is advantageous, because a feathered head would become spattered with blood and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean. While flying, lappet-faced vultures have large, broad wings held with the front edges held parallel and slightly pointed, serrated-looking wingtips. Compared to the somewhat similarly marked hooded vulture, it is considerably larger with a more massive bill and can only be confused at a great distance. The Gyps vultures are generally much paler, with less white lining the wings and more bulging secondaries. The cinereous vulture (which may overlap in range in the Arabian area) has a similar body shape but is all dark, with no contrasting plumage. 
Size
1.2 m
Life Expectancy
30 years
Feeding Habits
Lappet-faced Vulture primarily feeds on carrion, locating it via sight or by following other vultures. Lappet-faced Vulture is dominant at carcasses, where it consumes tough tissues that others cannot. Lappet-faced Vulture also eats smaller live prey, attacking from perches. Its crop can hold 1.5 kg of meat.
Habitat
This vulture prefers to live in dry savannah, thornbush, arid plains, deserts with scattered trees in wadis, open mountain slopes. They are usually found in undisturbed open country with a scattering of trees and apparently prefer areas with minimal grass cover. While foraging, they can wander into denser habitats and even into human inhabited areas, especially if drawn to road kills. They may be found in elevation from sea-level to 4,500 m (14,800 ft).
Dite type
Scavenger
General Info
Distribution Area
This species is patchily distributed through much of Africa, though it is absent from much of the central and western parts of the continent and declining elsewhere in its range. The lappet-faced vulture breeds in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. On the Arabian Peninsula, it breeds in Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It is also present in Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Benin, the Central African Republic and Angola.
Species Status
The lappet-faced vulture's world population is believed to have decreased perceptibly, and as of October 2015 their IUCN status was updated to Endangered. They are declining in Sahel and several parts of their southern, northern and western distribution in Africa. They are apparently currently stable in Arabia but have a small population there and have been extirpated from Israel as a breeding bird. The declines are almost entirely due to human activities, including disturbances from habitat destruction and cultivation, disturbances at the nesting site (to which the species is reportedly quite sensitive) and ingestion of pesticides, which are usually set out for jackals and other small mammalian carnivores. Domestic cattle, who have replaced natural prey over much of the range, are now often sold off, rather than abandoned, due to the proliferation of markets and abattoirs and rarely left to die and be consumed by vultures. Lappet-faced vultures are also sometimes victims of direct persecution, including shooting and the use of strychnine and other poisons. In Namibia, 86 vultures died after eating poisoned cattle carcasses, because the farmers erroneously believed they were killing and eating the cattle. In some cases the poisoning is done by poachers, who fear the presence of vultures will alert authorities to their activities, the illegal killings of protected species. They are considered Vulnerable at the species level, with an estimated world population of under 9,000 individuals. On 20 June 2019, the carcasses of 468 white-backed vultures, 17 white-headed vultures, 28 hooded vultures, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 cape vultures, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 tawny eagles, were found in northern Botswana. It is suspected that they died after eating the carcasses of 3 elephants that were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching activity by circling above where there are dead animals.
Photo By Nigel Voaden 
Scientific Classification
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