Where the Egyptian Vultures breed?

March 8, 2019

Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a globally endangered species but widely distributed across the Old World from southern Europe, northern Africa to western and southern Asia.  Indian race N. p. ginginianus is resident species in Nepal in the lower mountains to the southern plains of Nepal. They prefer to take variety of food including carcasses of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and organic matters, vegetables, excrements of human and livestock in rubbish dumps.

In general, breeding starts from February and last until May. They build nests on crags, outcrops and shallow caves in cliffs and sometimes on trees too. Same nest sites can be used for several years. Understanding of nesting habitat of this species is important to identify the resources requirement for the breeding period. Nest site selection study is important to identify factors/resources that are either positively or negatively associated for the nesting survival because the quality of those resources can play vital role on the nesting success and the population dynamics. In this light Himalayan Nature's research fellow Sandesh Gurung is now actively working in the field to identify nest sites of Egyptian Vulture in the central Nepal to the south of Annapurna Himalaya Range. Sandesh will do intensive survey on the potential nesting sites and collect range of variables that are thought to be more important for the breeding of this species. Several nests sites are already identified and he is now working hard to find more. We will be posting detail story after Sandesh returns from field. We wish good luck for the success of this important study.