248 : Ruppell's Griffon Vulture



Ruppell's Griffon Vulture - Gyps rueppellii

The bird in the front with its head raised is an adolescent Griffon vulture. It is less bulky than a Lappet and slightly larger than an African White-backed Vulture. The Griffon Vulture holds the altitude record of any bird with a highest prove cruising altitude of 11,000 m or 36,100 feet !! The record was proven when a bird was sucked into the engine of a commercial airliner flying over the Cote DÍvoire. The bird has specialist blood that allows it breathe at these high altitudes (facts courtesy of Guardian Mystery Bird Online).

These are the second at the dinner table on a carcass in Africa - a pack of Griffons is a decent match for a lone Hyena or two !

Tanzania, Serengetti, Mara River

July 2013

247 : Lappet-faced Vulture

Lappet-faced Vulture - Torgos tracheliotos

This is the big bruiser of the African vultures getting first "dibs" at any carcass before the smaller vultures are allowed a look in. They are able to tear open carcasses and perform other butchery tasks that the smaller vultures cannot. Note the huge hatchet bill, bare skinned head to allow it to shove its beak where we wouldn't and the vast wingspan. This is bigger than a flying door at 9 feet ! There is a nice leading edge on the wing in white from the shoulder to the elbow and I love those big fluffy white trousers. Its a striking looking bird in flight and on the ground. They are usually solitary  birds outside of the breeding season.

I know they are not particulary attractive as birds but they have their place in clearing up the mess left behind by the big predators. They are under threat and there are perhaps only 8,000 left in Africa now and 500 spread across the Middle East.

Below, A carcass on the Serengetti with assorted vultures. lappet long gone !  One less Wildebeeste in the herd :-

 

 

The main threat to these birds is poisoning. Carcasses are laced with strychnine and left out to control predators. Outside of protected areas like the Serengetti the numbers of Lappet-faced vultures are estimated to be in "rapid decline" by Birdlife international. I have looked through all my pictures and I think the Lappet-faced I managed to get the arieal shot of at the top of this post is the only one I saw of these magnificent creatures in a week in prime country.

 

Tanzania, Serengetti, Near Mara River, Olakira Camp

July 2012