#vulture #animalphotography

#vulture #animalphotography  

Originally shared by Dubie Bacino

The Vulture by Mario Moreno www.mariomorenophotography.com  A Cape Vulture ( Gyps coprotheres ) captured in the Kruger area close to Rhino Walking Safaris.

This majestic bird is a member of the Old World vulture family and is found only in southern Africa. It has a creamy-buff body plumage, which contrasts with its dark flight and tail feathers and its black bill . Adults can be distinguished by their honey-coloured eyes and naked, bluish throat, whilst juveniles have brown eyes and a pink neck. When these huge scavengers are flying, the pale, almost silvery, under-side wing feathers can be seen. As a scavenger, the Cape Vulture feeds mainly on carrion.

They are gregarious birds, nesting and roosting in colonies on cliffs or dead trees in open grasslands and savanna. When searching for food they form a foraging net across the sky, watching each other as they search large areas to locate a suitable carcass. Many vultures may collect at a carcass, which can lead to an eventful feeding time, with fighting, threat displays and some even inserting their long neck under the skin or crawling into the rib-cage of the dead animal.

The Cape vulture is classified as vulnerable and is only found in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique. It formerly bred in Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Namibia, but is now extinct in Swaziland, and only small, non-breeding populations persist in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

#vulture #capevulture #birdphotography