Egyptian vulture

Egyptian Vulture
Adult of south Asian subspecies in worn or "painted" plumage
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes (or Accipitriformes, q.v.)
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	Neophron Savigny, 1809
Species:	N. percnopterus
Binomial name
Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a small Old World vulture, found from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. In Southern Asia this species is called the Scavenger Vulture.

Taxonomy

There are three recognised subspecies of the Egyptian Vulture:

• N. p. percnopterus, the nominate subspecies, has the largest range, occurring in southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the north-west of the Indian subcontinent
• N. p. ginginianus, the smallest subspecies, occurs in most of the Indian subcontinent
• N. p. majorensis, the Canarian Egyptian Vulture, the largest subspecies with by far the smallest and most restricted population, is found only in the eastern Canary Islands

Description

Adult nominate subspecies in fresh plumage

The adult Egyptian Vulture usually measures 85 cm from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail feathers and 1.7 meters between the tips of the wings. It weighs about 2.1 kilograms.

The adult plumage is white, with some black feathers in the wings and tail. Due to its habits—stalking around carcasses on usually dusty ground to wait for its turn—the plumage dulls quickly, and birds before moult are beige rather than pure white. Also, individuals occasionally seem to "paint" themselves with soil containing iron oxide, as Lammergeiers do, turning their plumage a pinkish buff; hence the German name Schmutzgeier ("dirt-vulture"). Its facial skin is yellow, turning orange during nesting periods, and is devoid of feathers. The face's change in the density of pigment is an example of an honest signal of health. This is because to achieve it the vultures must consume manure (often from cows), which is high in carotenes, the precursor for the pigment. Crucially, the manure is very high in microbes also. Only a healthy, strong vulture will be able to deal with these high levels of microbes. Therefore the strength of pigmentation is an indication how good a mate the vulture will be and so this colouration becomes part of the consideration in mating. The tail is diamond-shaped, so it is easily distinguished in flight. The shape of the tail trades off speed and for improved manoeuvrability.

The nominate subspecies has a yellow bill with a black tip, whereas the smaller Indian race has an all-yellow bill

The nestlings are dark brown and gradually become lighter until they reach adulthood at the age of five.

Distribution

An Egyptian vulture in flight

Egyptian Vultures are widely distributed and may be found in southern Europe, in northern Africa, and in western and southern Asia.

They are partial migrants, depending on the local climate. If an Egyptian Vulture can endure the winter, it usually will not migrate. The species is not well adapted for cold weather due to its small size (see Bergmann's Rule).

Conservation status

Immature (behind) and adult
From John Gould's Birds of Europe

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 in veterinary medicine, which enters the food chain of the species; the drug is extremely poisonous to vultures. Consequently, this species was uplisted from Least Concern to Endangered status in the 2007 IUCN Red List.

Cultural significance

In Ancient Egypt, the vulture hieroglyph was the uniliteral sign used for the glottal sound (3).

References

• Ali, Salim & Sidney Dillon Ripley (1983): Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, 2nd ed. vol.1, #186: p. 310. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
• Template:IUCN2006
• BirdLife International (2007a): [ 2006-2007 Red List status changes ]. Retrieved 2007-AUG-26.
• BirdLife International 2007b): Egyptian Vulture - BirdLife Species Factsheet. Retrieved 2007-AUG-28.

External links

• BTO BirdFacts - Egyptian Vulture
• A photo story on how the Egyptian Vulture can crack an Ostrich egg
• Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta