Lappet-faced vulture: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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| parent_authority = [[Johann Jakob Kaup|Kaup]], 1828

| species = tracheliotos

| authority = ([[Johann Reinhold Forster|Forster]], ~~1791~~1796)

| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies

| subdivision_ref = <ref>Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.</ref>

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* ''T. t. tracheliotos'' - (Forster, JR, 1796)

| synonyms=

''Torgos tracheliotus'' (lapsus)''▼

~~''Aegypius tracheliotos''~~

''Vultur tracheliotos'' J. R. Forster, 1796

▲''Torgos tracheliotus (lapsus)''

''Vultur auricularis'' Daudin, 1800

''Vultur aegypius'' Temminck, 1826

''Vultur imperialis'' Temminck, 1827

''Vultur nubicus'' H. Smith, 1829

| range_map = TorgosTracheliotosIUCN.svg

| range_map_caption = Range of ''T. tracheliotos'' {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#AAFFAA|Possibly Extant (resident)|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#FF0000|Extinct|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#FF8080|Probably extinct|outline=gray}}

}}

The '''lappet-faced vulture''' or ''' Nubian vulture''' ('''''Torgos tracheliotos''''') is an [[Old World vulture]] belonging to the [[bird]] order [[Accipitriformes]], which also includes [[eagle]]s, [[kite (bird)|kite]]s, [[buzzard]]s and [[hawk]]s. It is the only member of the genus '''''Torgos'''''. It is not closely related to the superficially similar [[New World vulture]]s, and does not share the good sense of smell of some members of that ~~group~~[[Family (biology)|family]] of birds.

The lappet-faced vulture was formerly considered ~~monotypical~~[[monotypic]]al, but now is separated into two [[subspecies]]. The nominate race lives throughout [[Africa]]. The subspecies ''T. t. negevensis'', differing considerably in appearance from African vultures (as described below) is endemic to the [[Arabian ~~peninsula~~Peninsula]].

== Name ==

The scientific name is Greek, meaning "Cartilage-eared Vulture".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Colombo and Beltramini|first=Gianfranco and Mario|title=Torgos tracheliotus|url=https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/torgos-tracheliotus/?lang=en~~|url-status=live~~|website=www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/|date=24 April 2012 }}</ref>

==Distribution==

This species is patchily distributed through much of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, 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, Eswatini, 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,<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> as well as a single vagrant record in [[Kuwait]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.birdsofkuwait.com/21082008-at-tulha/ | title= birdsofkuwait| date= 21 May 2008}}</ref>

==Habitat==

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==Description==

[[File:Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) (33317710636).jpg|thumb|In [[Kruger National Park]], South Africa]]

The lappet-faced vulture is a ~~huge~~very large 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]].<ref name=RaptorsWorld>{{citation |last1=Ferguson-Lees |first1=James |author-link=James Ferguson-Lees |last2=Christie |first2=David A. |year=2001 |title=Raptors of the World |publisher=[[Houghton-Mifflin Company]] |isbn=978-0-618-12762-7}}</ref> This species measures around {{convert|95|–|115|cm|in|abbr=on}} in body length, with a wingspan of {{convert|2.5|–|2.9|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Among the standard measurements, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|71.5|-|82.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[tail]] is {{convert|33|-|36|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] is {{convert|12.2|-|15|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> The bill, at up to {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5|cm|in|abbr=on}} deep, ranks as one of the largest of any [[Accipitridae|accipitrid]], although a reported [[Culmen (bird)|culmen]] length of {{convert|7.2|cm|in|abbr=on}} is slightly less than the culmen length of the cinereous vulture.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Hardy, Eric |year=1947 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v064n03/p0471-p0472.pdf |title=The Northern Lappet-faced Vulture in Palestine—A new record for Asia |journal=[[The Auk]] |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=471–472 |doi=10.2307/4080421|jstor=4080421 }}</ref> Wild vultures of the subspecies ''T. t. tracheliotus'' range from {{convert|4.4|to|9.4|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and in [[East Africa]], average only {{convert|6.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Torgos_tracheliotos/more_info.html?section=factsAndStatus |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717181043/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Torgos_tracheliotos/more_info.html?section=factsAndStatus |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-17 |title=Lappet-faced vulture videos, photos and facts – Torgos tracheliotos |publisher=[[ARKive]] |access-date=2012-08-21}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/3881/lappetvulture.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024013825/http://geocities.com/RainForest/3881/lappetvulture.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-10-24 |title=Lappet-faced Vulture |publisher=Geocities.com}}</ref> On the other hand, captive vultures of the larger ''T. t. negevensis'' subspecies weighed {{convert|6.5|-|9.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males and {{convert|10.5|-|13.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in females.<ref name= RaptorsWorld/>

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.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> The combination of the colorful head and [[Wattle (anatomy)|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 when feeding, 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.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/>

==Behaviour==

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical

|image1=Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) ~~-Masai~~in ~~Mara~~flight ~~National Reserve, Kenya-8~~Kruger.jpg |caption1=~~Perching~~ in aflight ~~tree in~~above [[~~Masai Mara~~Kruger National ~~Reserve~~Park]], [[~~Kenya~~South Africa]]

|image2=Vultures scavenge on an elephant kill - journal.pone.0060797.g001-D.png |caption2=Scavenging on an [[African bush elephant|elephant]] carcass together with ~~the number of~~some [[white-backed vulture]]s

}}

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The lappet-faced vulture is a scavenging bird, feeding mostly from [[animal]] carcasses, which it finds by sight or by watching other [[vulture]]s. More so than many African vultures, they often find carrion on their own and start tearing through the skin. They are the most powerful and aggressive of the [[Africa]]n [[vulture]]s, and other vultures will usually cede a carcass to the lappet-faced vulture if it decides to assert itself. This is often beneficial to the less powerful vultures because the Lappet-face can tear through the tough hides and knotty muscles of large [[mammal]]s that the others cannot penetrate. However [[hyena]]s are even more efficient in this regard (if more voracious eaters). However, lappet-faced vultures frequently hang around the edges of the throngs at large carcasses, waiting until the other vultures are done, to feed on remnant skin, tendons, and other coarse tissues that the others will not eat. Big game animals, up to the size of [[elephant]]s, are preferred as [[carrion]] since they provide the most subsistence at a sitting. A full crop can contain up to {{convert|1.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of meat.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/>

Perhaps more than any other true vulture, lappet-faced vultures have been recorded as regularly feeding on freshly killed smaller mammals, birds, and reptiles. Some of these are probably [[Roadkill|road-kills]] or are [[Kleptoparasitism|pirated]] from [[eagle]]s or other raptors but they are also believed to occasionally attack live animals, especially young and weak animals, and the nests and young of other birds. [[Flamingo]] colonies (including eggs, young and adults), young [[impala]]s, and [[guineafowl]] have reportedly been predated. They are believed to still hunt from an elevated perch and then drop on their prey, stunning them with the impact and tearing them apart with their substantial bills. Most remains found at nests are from small animals possibly caught alive.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/>

[[File:Torgos tracheliotus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.78.7.jpg|thumb| ~~''Torgos tracheliotus''~~Egg - [[MHNT]]]]

~~Vultures are janitors.~~

===Life history===

Lappet-faced vultures are generally solitary birds. They do not nest in cohesive colonies as do many smaller vultures, with one tree or area usually only having one to two nests in it, though rarely up to 10 nests have been recorded in one area. The home range of a lappet-faced vulture is usually at least {{convert|8|to|15|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Groups of up to 25 to 50 Lappet-faces may congregate at large carcasses or [[watering ~~holes~~hole]]s, though typically only from one to as many as seven turn up per carcass.<ref>{{citation |last1=Stevenson |first1=Terry |last2=Fanshawe |first2=John |year=2001 |title=Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi |publisher=[[Elsevier]] Science |isbn=978-0856610790}}</ref>

This species nests in November through July in the north of its range, throughout the year in eastern Africa and May to January in southern Africa. The huge nest, a pile of neatly formed sticks, measures {{convert|120|-|220|cm|in|abbr=on}} across and {{convert|30|-|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} deep. The nest is often lined with green leaves, as well as animal hair and skins. Nests are almost always placed in the main fork or top of an ''[[Acacia]]'' tree, though ''[[Balanites]]'' and ''[[Terminalia (plant)|Terminalia]]'' trees are sometimes also used, at {{convert|5|to|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} off the ground.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The clutch contains one or two eggs, which are incubated by both parents over the course of 54 to 56 days. The young fledge at 124 to 135 days old, although can be dependent on their parents for up to an age of 1 year or more, sometimes forcing parents to only nest in alternate years. There is a single remarkable record of a lappet-faced vulture pair successfully raising a [[white-headed vulture]].<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> The lappet-faced vulture does not usually breed until it is around six years of age.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

==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 the [[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 [[jackal]]s 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.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name=RaptorsWorld/>

On 20 June 2019, the carcasses of 468 [[white-backed vulture]]s, 17 [[white-headed vulture]]s, 28 [[hooded vulture]]s, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 [[cape vulture]]s, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 [[tawny eagle]]s, 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.<ref name="NDTV AFP 06-2019">{{cite news |publisher=[[NDTV]] |work=[[Agence France-Press]] |title=Over 500 Rare Vultures Die After Eating Poisoned Elephants In Botswana |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-500-rare-vultures-die-after-eating-poisoned-elephants-in-botswana-2056740 |date=2019-06-21 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref><ref name="CNN 06-2019">{{cite news |last=Hurworth |first=Ella |title=More than 500 endangered vultures die after eating poisoned elephant carcasses |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/21/africa/botswana-vultures-endangered-elephants-intl-hnk/index.html |date=2019-06-24 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref><ref name="Smithsonian 06-2019">{{cite magazine |last=Solly |first=Meilan |title=Poachers' Poison Kills 530 Endangered Vultures in Botswana |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poachers-poison-kills-530-endangered-vultures-botswana-180972477/ |date=2019-06-24 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref><ref name="Afrik21 06-2019">{{cite news |last=Ngounou |first=Boris |title=BOTSWANA: Over 500 vultures found dead after massive poisoning |publisher=Afrik21 |url=https://www.afrik21.africa/en/botswana-over-500-vultures-found-dead-after-massive-poisoning/ |date=2019-06-27 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref>

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