Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae
Neophron percnopterus
At very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
It is one of the few birds in the world that use tools: to break open ostrich eggs, whose shells are too thick for its beak, it throws stones at them again and again.
Weight
1.6 kg – 2.4 kg
Size
55 cm – 65 cm
Life expectancy
20 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Estimated population
1,490-1,567 pairs in Spain according to the fourth national survey of 2018, the highest figure recorded to date; Spain holds 32-47% of the 3,195-4,832 European pairs. Castile and León accounts for 22.9% of the Spanish total and the Canaries for 74 pairs of the endemic subspecies majorensis
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Birdfact; Oiseaux.net; Animal Diversity Web; Birds of the World; PMC (survival breeding success study, early life movements study); IUCN Red List / BirdLife International (En peligro a escala global); en España el IV censo nacional de 2018 detectó en cambio un ligero repunte respecto a 2008 || Del Moral y Molina (Eds.) 2018, El alimoche común en España, SEO/BirdLife; BirdLife International 2017 || SEO/BirdLife, ficha del alimoche común y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España
Best time: From March to August, when it is a summer visitor to the Iberian Peninsula; it leaves Spain for the Sahel in late summer. The Canarian population (the guirre majorero) is resident and can be seen all year round
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 11.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Egyptian Vulture — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The egyptian vulture is classified as endangered. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 9 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about egyptian vulture.
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The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
