White-rumped vultures /Indian white backed vultures/Gyps bengalensis/बंगाल का गिद्ध

White-rumped vultures /Indian white backed vultures

(Gyps bengalensis)

बंगाल का गिद्ध, सफेद पीठ वाला गिद्ध के पीछे पड़ा कौआ.... Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary

Mahrajganj

Uttar Pradesh

September 19

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This is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures die of renal failure caused by diclofenac poisoning.

 In the 1980s, the global population was estimated at several million individuals, and it was thought to be "the most abundant large bird of prey in the world". As of 2016, the global population was estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals.

This is the smallest of the Gyps vultures, but is still a very large bird. It weighs 3.5-7.5 kg (7.7-16.5 lbs), measures 75–93 cm (30–37 in) in length,and has a wingspan of 1.92–2.6 m (6.3–8.5 ft).

This vulture builds its nest on tall trees often near human habitations in northern and central India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and southeast Asia, laying one egg. Birds form roost colonies. The population is mostly resident.

Like other vultures it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring high in thermals and spotting other scavengers