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Lappet-faced Vulture | Aegypius tracheliotus
The Lappet-faced Vulture is a Southern African bird that belongs to the Accipitridae bird family group which includes birds such as Raptors, Old Vultures, Osprey. The description for the Lappet-faced Vulture (Latin name Aegypius tracheliotus) can be found in the 7th Edition of the Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. The Aegypius tracheliotus can be quickly identified by its unique Roberts identification number of 124 and the detailed description of this bird is on page 491. You will find a picture of the Lappet-faced Vulture on page 481. NOTE: The reference for the information following is "Roberts Birds of Southern Africa", 7th Edition*. This edition contained a number of taxonomic changes as well as changes to English names used traditionally and in earlier editions of most bird books in South Africa. The following paragraph notes such changes if any. There have been no changes in the common name between the Roberts 6th and Roberts 7th Edition. The Latin name for this bird is Torgos tracheliotus in the Roberts 6th Edition. The Lappet-faced Vulture is known in Afrikaans as Swartaasvo?l. The Lappet-faced Vulture has a height of 105 cms and weighs around 6500 gms. The head is coloured pink, red while the bill is coloured yellow. The Aegypius tracheliotus has a pink coloured throat, blue, grey legs and a brown coloured back. The eyes are brown. Take note of the main distinguishing features such as colour, size and leg length relative to the body size. Colours of body parts can be helpful. Be aware what may appear brown to one person is described in Roberts using some other word ... for example brown, black. See colours used in Roberts. Head is pink, red Eyes are brown Bill is yellow Legs are blue, grey Throat is pink Back is brown Feeding Habits ...This bird forages for food on the ground This bird is a well known scavenger and rarely kills its own prey. Breeding, Habitat and Nesting Habits ...The Lappet-faced Vulture is a monogamous bird which means that the bird finds and breeds with one partner for the rest of its life. The bird lays between 1 eggs and they are coloured white. The nest is built high up in the tree canopy and is protected from predators by branches and the dense green foligae. The Lappet-faced Vulture is mainly found in light and densely wooded forests, where there are Mopane trees. The bird is found in the arid and semi-arid regions of Southern Africa and it can withstand high day and night temperatures This bird is very common in most of the Southern African Forests Seen in Flocks, Singles or Pairs Normally ... |
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* The reference for the information following is "Roberts Birds of Southern Africa", 7th Edition * edited by PAR Hockey, WRJ Dean and PG Ryan, published by "The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund." copyright: Tony Roocroft +27-11-454-0105 |
