Egyptian vulture

    Neophron percnopterus

Castilian: Alimoche común

Catalan: Aufrany

Gallego: Voitre branco

Euskera: Sai zuia

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Falconiformes

Family: Accipitridae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Vulnerable” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Endangered”.

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THREATS

Poisoned bait, electrical cables, loss or alteration of habitat, lack of food due to the closing of landfills and changes in the management of livestock remains.

Length / size: 55-65 cm / 148-171 cm

Identification: Medium-sized bird of prey that has a dirty white colour with black flight feathers in its wings, a hackle of frayed feathers in its head and neck, and a featherless, yellow face. In flight it looks like a white bird, with long and narrow wings and the characteristic wedge shape of the tail. Juveniles are dark brown with a bluish-grey face.

Song: It is a silent species.

Diet: This species behaves like a scavenger and a hunter. For this reason, it feeds on the carcasses of medium-sized and small dead animals, and it hunts small vertebrates and insects. It also finishes off sick or injured animals, it searches dumps and landfills, and even consumes cow dung, which has caused it to receive the name "boñiguero" ("cow dung bird" in Spanish).

Reproduction: The breeding period begins between March and April. It nests in rocks, cracks or small caves, and both sexes prepare a somewhat crude nest made of sticks and other scraps that they line with wool and which can be used for several years. Incubation is done by both adults, and it is not uncommon that only one of the chicks hatches, and that chick will be cared for by the mother in particular.

HABITAT

It occupies craggy, steep places near open areas with abundant livestock, pastureland or grasslands where it can search for food.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: There are six population concentrations worth mentioning: the Cantabrian and Pyrenees Mountains, the Central and Iberian Systems, and the Ebro Valley; Extremadura, Arribes del Duero, and Sierra Morena; the Cazorla and Segura Mountains; the mountain ranges of Cádiz and Málaga; the Balearic Islands; and the Canary Islands.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces except Valladolid y Ávila, and the largest populational concentrations are found in the Ebro Valley and Arribes del Duero.

Movements and migrations: Between mid-July and October, the Spanish populations cross the Strait of Gibraltar to winter in sub-Saharan Africa; in early February and until mid-April, they return to their breeding areas. In certain places in the peninsula, such as the Ebro Valley or La Mancha, some specimens from France temporarily settle.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of between 1320 and 1475 breeding pairs (2000 data).

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 450-550 breeding pairs.