Red-headed Vulture

About the Red-headed Vulture

The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.

This is a species of Old World vulture, and the only member of the genus Sarcogyps. The generic name Sarcogyps is a combination of the Greek words sarx, meaning "flesh", and gups, meaning "vulture". The specific epithet calvus is Latin for "bald". The red-headed vulture is monotypic; it has no accepted subspecies.

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.

It is a medium-sized vulture of 76 to 86 cm (30 to 34 in) in length... Wikipedia →