Indian Vulture

The Indian vulture, or long-billed vulture, is a medium-sized Old World vulture with a small, semi-bald head, a long beak and wide dark wings, 89–103 cm long with a wingspan of 2.22–2.58 m and a weight of 5.5–6.3 kg. The body and covert feathers are pale brown with darker flight feathers, the thighs white with scattered white fluff, and the broad wings have short tail feathers. Very few head feathers keep the head clean when it feeds inside rotting carcasses (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds mainly on small cliffs and hilly crags in central and south India, and also nests on high buildings, rarely in trees. It is not migratory but travels hundreds of miles in a day scavenging, and is usually seen in small flocks, sometimes with other vultures. The main cause of its decline was kidney failure from the drug diclofenac, commonly given to cattle, and bans were enacted in India, Pakistan and Nepal in 2006. SoIB 2023 rates it a High conservation priority, with a rapid long-term decline of about 96% and a current decline of nearly 10% a year (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).