Egyptian Vulture
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes 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, the only member of the genus Neophron. Egyptian Vultures are scavengers, mainly feeding off carrion, but they also prey on small mammals and eggs. Image File history File links Egyptian_vulture. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Aves redirects here. ... Families Accipitridae Pandionidae Falconidae Sagittariidae The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. ... Subfamilies Elaninae Perninae Milvinae Accipitrinae Buteoninae Aegypiinae Circinae Circaetinae The Accipitridae is one of the two main families within the order Falconiformes (the diurnal birds of prey). ... Marie Jules César Lelorgne de Savigny (April 5, 1777 - October 5, 1851) was a French zoologist. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... † see also: Accipitridae Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. ... An American Black Vulture feeding on squirrel carrion For other uses, see Carrion (disambiguation). ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary...

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

The adult's plumage is black and white. Its facial skin is yellow (it turns orange during nesting periods) and devoid of feathers. The tail is wedged and diamond shaped, so it is easily distinguished in flight. The nestlings are dark brown and gradually go light until they reach adulthood at the age of 5. Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ... Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ...

The Egyptian Vulture is also known as Pharaoh’s Chicken because it looks like a scruffy chicken.

Egyptian Vultures are quite widely distributed and can be found in India, south west Asia, the Iberian Peninsula, and central and north Africa. They are partial migrants, depending on the local climate. If the Egyptian Vulture can endure the local winter it will usually not migrate. It is not well adjusted to cold weather conditions, mainly because of its surface area-volume ratio that causes a quick loss of heat. World map showing the location of Asia. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...

Nesting

The Egyptian Vulture reaches sexual maturity at the age of 5 and breeds like most other birds of prey. They mate for life. The nests are built in areas of cliffs and slopes in inaccessible ledges or niches in rocky walls. Both the male and the female take part in the nest construction. They use branches for the frame and upholster it with garbage and food remains (skeletons of small mammals, turtle shells, etc.). They carry the nesting materials with their beak, unlike most other raptors, which use their talons instead. The nest is continually upholstered during the nesting and brooding period. The female lays 2 white eggs with dark brown spots (measurements: 94 grams in weight, 65x55 millimeter length and width) with a few days interval between them. This usually happens between the end of March and the end of April. If you are looking for other meanings of the term, refer to Bird of prey (disambiguation). ... blue: sea turtles, black: land turtles Suborders Cryptodira Pleurodira See text for families. ... The term raptor can refer to: In zoology, a bird of prey. ...

Food

The Egyptian Vulture feeds mainly off carrion. Due to its relatively small size, it needs to wait until other scavengers (such as the larger Gyps vultures and hyenas) finish their meal before it can start feeding. Its head and beak are well fitted for this situation. Like other vultures, it is believed that the bare skin prevents remains from sticking to it. (If a vulture did have feathers, remains could stick to them and interrupt take-off and flight.) Using its long beak an Egyptian Vulture can tear small pieces of meat left by larger scavengers. The thin beak can also fit through narrow spaces between bones to get food that large-beaked vultures cannot reach. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (892x1024, 198 KB) العربية | Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Indonesian | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski | Português | Românǎ | Русский | Slovenščina | Српски | Sunda | 简体中文 | 正體中文 | Türkçe | Русский | Українська +/- File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other... Genera Crocuta Hyaena Parahyaena Proteles Hyenas (or Hyaenas) are moderately large terrestrial carnivores native to Africa and Asia, and members of the family Hyaenidae. ...

The Egyptian Vulture sometimes preys on small and slow mammals and reptiles, especially turtles. It lifts the turtle to high elevation and drops it on rocky surface, smashing its shell. The Egyptian Vulture is one of a few bird species that are known to use tools. It uses small stones to crack ostrich eggs by lifting a stone with its beak and hitting the egg in a strong swing of head and neck. Binomial name Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of ostriches. ...

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Neophron percnopterus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Neophron percnopterus

• A photo story on how the Egyptian Vulture can crack an Ostrich egg