Red-Headed Vulture

Red-Headed Vulture Latest News

Recently, a rare red-headed vulture sighted at an altitude of about 2,650 metres in Uttarakhand’s Munsiyari. 

About Red-Headed Vulture

• The Red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) is an Old World vulture.
• Other Names: It is also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture, or Pondicherry vulture.
• Appearance: It is a dark, medium-sized vulture with a bare reddish head and loose flaps on the side of the neck.
• Habitat: They are usually found in open country and in cultivated and semi-desert areas, deciduous forests, foothills, river valleys and also in mountainous regions.
• Distribution: It is mainly found in South Asia with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.
  • Typically found in Central India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
• Breeding: Breeding typically takes place between November and January.
• Diet: These are scavenging birds, feeding mostly on carcasses of dead animals which they find by sight.
• Threats: It was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning

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Conservation Status of Red-Headed Vulture

• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Source: NIE