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 Egyptian vulture  (Neophron percnopterus )

 

  

Range

The Egyptian Vulture can be found in Southern Europe, the Middle East, India and practicaly all of Africa except the southernmost parts.
It is a bird of the open plains, deserts and cultivated areas. It generally avoids forested areas and well-wooded savannahs. It can be found from sea level to heights of 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) or more.
Northern populations migrate to warmer areas for the winter.

Diet

The Egyptian Vulture is a scavenger very much like the gulls in this country. Their diet consists primarily of refuse of all kinds.
The do occasionally eat insects, worms, snails and the like - sometimes taking flying insects in the air.
They are most famous for their trick of using stones to break into ostrich eggs - smaller eggs they pick up and dash to the ground to break open.

Voice

The Egyptian Vulture is, like most vultures, mostly a silent bird.
When excited or angry, it can make a number of mews, hisses and low grunts.

Status and behaviour in the wild

The Egyptian Vulture is, in much of its range, the commonest vulture.
It is quite comfortable with man, and lives a squalid life around villages, scavenging all kinds of human remains. In open country it is an opportunist feeder, taking advantage of squabbles between larger vultures and eagles to secure a meal.
In the air, and particularly in adult plumage, it is a graceful and rather handsome bird.
It roosts singly or in pairs in open country - town dwellers roost in numbers. It prefers crags, but will use trees, buildings or even the ground. It is one of the first to rise, and will spend many hours soaring in its search for food.

Breeding Behaviour

As you would expect with this unusual bird, its display flights are not typical vulture behaviour. The stooping and climbing, the mutual diving and talon grappling are closer to that of the Bearded Vulture.
Their nest is usually in a crag, small cave, or a suitable part of a building. If all else fails they will use trees, or even the top of termite mound! The nest of sticks will be lined with all manner of material - rags, fur, skin - and well cemented with droppings. Both sexes build, and a nest is used for many years.

0ne to three eggs are laid at 3 - 4 days intervals, and incubation, which begins with the first egg and is shared by both birds, lasts for about 42 days.
The young will be ready to fledge after about three months and will take up to 5 years to achieve full adult plumage, although it may be ready to breed earlier.

 Source: Internet
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