BIRDWALKERMONDAY: HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

Showing posts with label HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus). Show all posts

Saturday, 20 January 2024

20-12-2023 ALLAHEIN RIVER, SENEGAL - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

The Hooded Vulture is a lovely, relatively petite vulture. Overall it is a dark chocolatey brown color, with a white "collar" sometimes visible around its neck. True to its name, the hooded vulture has a small patch of downy feathers that runs along the back of its neck to the crown of its head, making it look like it is wearing a fluffy, cream-colored hood! It is has dark eyes and a long, narrow bill. Its face is devoid of feathers and its bare skin is normally white. However, when the vulture gets agitated or anxious, the white face flushes to a light pink or red - making it look as if it were blushing.

Like so many vulture species, the Hooded Vulture is often seen soaring high in the sky or gathered singly or in small groups at an animal carcass, garbage dump or slaughterhouse.

Many people mistakenly believe that vultures are dirty animals because of their steady diet of dead animals. However, the exact opposite is true. Vultures enjoy bathing and can spend quite a bit of time around watering holes. And speaking of bathing, vultures also spend time sunbathing, or sunning, as well. But, it isn't because they want to get a tan! Among other reasons, it is to help keep their feathers healthy and clean.

Scientists believe that when birds sun, this actually helps rid their feathers of unwanted and dangerous parasites. These parasites like to hide deep in a bird's feathers. Exposing them to sunlight, and the related heat, causes the parasites to move around, making it easier for the birds to pick off the parasites when they clean, or preen, their feathers.

Thursday, 18 January 2024

21-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

Like so many vulture species, the Hooded Vulture is often seen soaring high in the sky or gathered singly or in small groups at an animal carcass, garbage dump or slaughterhouse.

The Hooded Vulture has a wide distribution throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It can be found in such countries as Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and Somalia.

As you might imagine, a species with such a far-reaching range probably also occurs in a wide variety of habitats. This is certainly true in the case of the Hooded Vulture. This species can be found in savannas, deserts, riparian habitats, forests, cultivated lands, and even in urban habitats - often living quite close to humans. In fact, the Hooded Vulture is so comfortable around people, it will sometimes gather in large numbers at garbage dumps and slaughter houses. This not only helps them to take advantage of some easy meals, but it helps them avoid too much competition from other larger vulture species, as the other species wisely tend to avoid getting too close to humans.

Thursday, 11 January 2024

26-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

The hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes, which is sister to the larger Gyps genus, both of which are a part of the Aegypiinae subfamily of Old World vultures. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it has a widespread distribution with populations in southern, East and West Africa. It is a scruffy-looking, small vulture with dark brown plumage, a long thin bill, bare crown, face and fore-neck, and a downy nape and hind-neck. Its face is usually a light red colour. It typically scavenges on carcasses of wildlife and domestic animals. Although it remains a common species with a stable population in the lower region of Casamance, some areas of The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, other regions such as Dakar, Senegal, show more than 85% losses in population over the last 50 years. Threats include poisoning, hunting, loss of habitat and collisions with electricity infrastructure, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "critically endangered" in their latest assessment (2022). The highest current regional density of hooded vultures is in the western region of The Gambia.

Sunday, 7 January 2024

29-12-2023 BAKAU, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

The hooded vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus, is one of the smallest of the Old World vultures. The species gets its common name from the cream-colored hood, formed from a patch of downy feathers, along the back of its neck to the crown of its head.

The small vulture is scruffy-looking and has a rather short, rounded tail. The male and female vultures appear similar, while females have longer eyelashes than males. Juveniles are similar in appearance to adults, only darker and plainer in color with a purple sheen.

The vulture’s face is usually pinkish-white in color, though it can flush red when agitated. It has dark brown plumage with a feathered nape and hind-neck. The hooded vulture’s long thin black bill leads into its bare face, crown, and foreneck.

30-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

A small, mostly brown vulture with a small, naked, pink head covered with velvety white flufflike feathers. The slender, drooping, black beak and blue eye-ring are visible at close quarters and diagnostic when seen. Young birds have gray facial skin and brown fluff on the back of the neck. In flight, note rounded tail and silvery flight feathers. Rare and declining but widespread in open country, forest edge, and towns. While scavenging it is easily displaced from carcasses by larger and more aggressive vultures.

Although Hooded Vultures have relatively small home ranges, they are widely distributed across Africa. It occurs in Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Niger and Nigeria in West Africa; in East Africa it is found in Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia; in southern Africa it has been recorded in northern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.

Saturday, 6 January 2024

31-12-2023 BAKAU, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

Friday, 5 January 2024

3-1-2024 BAKAU, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

Soaring above savannah and human settlements, the hooded vulture typically scavenges on carcasses from wildlife or domesticated animals. They also feed on grasshoppers, grubs, and locusts and congregate during the seasonal emergence of insects.

The hooded vulture feeds at low tide on mussels, lobsters, mollusks, and dead fish along the coast. When limited food is available, the species can go without food for several days by not excreting and in turn slowing down its metabolism.

Friday, 29 December 2023

25-12-2023 ATLANTIC BLV, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

It is the sole member of the genus Necrosyrtes, making this a monotypic genus within the family Accipitridae. This family includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks and they diverged from all other bird species 49.6 million years ago, during the Paleogene period. These birds practice monogamy, where males and females remain with one mate during a mating season, and will co-rear their young together as a team. Like other vultures, this species is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals and waste which it finds by soaring over savannah and around human habitation, including waste tips and abattoirs. They sometimes referred to as the “garbage collector” by locals.

The major threats to this species include non-target poisoning, capture for traditional medicine and bushmeat – in Nigeria, a survey of medicinal traders found that Hooded Vulture was the most commonly traded species of culture, with 90% of all vulture parts traded belonging to the species, with an estimated 9,000 individuals traded over a six year period in West Africa. Declines have also been attributed to land conversion through development and improvements to abattoir hygiene and rubbish disposal. This species is widespread and found in a large number of protected areas. It is currently being surveyed in parts of its range, with larger scale monitoring planned. The Hawk Conservancy along with the Endangered Wildlife Trust are currently working on providing training and equipment for anti-poisoning teams so that field staff will have the skills and equipment to respond to a neutralise poisoned carcasses.

Wednesday, 27 December 2023

23-12-2023 BAKAU, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

The hooded vulture is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes, which is sister to the larger Gyps genus, both of which are a part of the Aegypiinae subfamily of Old World vultures.

They too wait patiently for the daily, late morning ritual. Watching. Waiting. As soon as the first piece of meat is thrown into the air, they become a frenzied throng of blurring feathers. The vultures being feed at the Senegambia Hotel really is quite a sight and one well worth catching.

Though very common in The Gambia, the species is actually considered as critically endangered globally. In fact 9 out of the 11 species of vulture in Africa are “Red Listed” by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), either as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered, and many regional populations face the immediate threat of extinction.

With its small head, narrow bill, scruffy looking dark brown feathers and red face, the hooded vulture is not the prettiest of birds but it is a fascinating bird to watch nevertheless and its wing span at 175cm is impressive. It is much smaller though, at a height of around 70cm, than some other vultures found in The Gambia including the Griffon and Lappet-Faced vultures.

Hooded Vultures are small vultures about 26 inches long. Females are larger than males. They are dark brown, have rather short, rounded tails and thin, weak beaks. The bare skin on their faces is reddish pink but may become bluish when the birds are excited.

Though common in The Gambia, the Hooded Vulture is considered critically endangered globally.

The vulture as an important and specialized scavenger in human societies, helps clean the environment and prevents diseases. However, plummeting populations across the globe in the last three decades has led to the classification of some species as endangered and critically endangered.

Tuesday, 26 December 2023

23-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - HOODED VULTURE (Necrosyrtes monachus)

The hooded vulture is a typical vulture, with a head that is usually pinkish-white, but flushes red when agitated, and a grey to black "hood". It has fairly uniform dark brown body plumage. It has broad wings for soaring and short tail feathers. This is one of the smaller Old World vultures. They are 62–72 cm (24–28 in) long, have a wingspan of 155–180 cm (61–71 in) and a body weight of 1.5–2.6 kg (3.3–5.7 lb). Both sexes are alike in appearance, although females often have longer eyelashes than males. Juveniles look like adults, only darker and plainer, and body feathers have a purplish sheen.

Usually silent, but gives a shrill, sibilant whistle during copulation, and thin squealing calls both at nests and carcasses.

It breeds in a stick nest in trees (often palms) in much of Africa south of the Sahara, laying one egg. Birds may form loose colonies. The population is mostly resident and sedentary, rarely moving more than 200 km.

Although hooded vultures have relatively small home ranges, they are widely distributed across Africa. It occurs in Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Niger and Nigeria in West Africa; in East Africa it is found in Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia; in southern Africa it has been recorded in northern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.

Within South Africa, the species is essentially restricted to the Kruger National Park and surrounding protected areas in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, though vagrants have been recorded further west in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.