Asian King Vulture

Asian king vulture on a bare tree in the forests of central India.

The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) is also known as the asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture (though there are unrelated species in the New World which share the names king vulture and black vulture). It is mainly found in the Indian Subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.

Its a medium-sized vulture of 76 to 86 cm (30 to 34 in) in length, weighing 3.5--6.3 kg (7.7--13.9 lb) and having a wingspan of about 1.99--2.6 m (6.5--8.5 ft). It has a prominent naked head: deep-red to orange in the adult, paler red in the juvenile. It has a black body with pale grey band at the base of the flight feathers. The sexes differ in colour of the iris: males have a paler, whitish iris, whilst in females it is dark brown.

This gaudy-faced vulture was historically abundant, range widely across the Indian Subcontinent, and also eastwards to south-central and south-eastern Asia, extending from India to Singapore. Today the range of the Red-headed Vulture is localized primarily to northern India. It is usually in open country and in cultivated and semi-desert areas. It is also found in deciduous forests and foothills and river valleys. It is usually found up to an altitude of 3000m from sea level.

Source : Wikipedia

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