White-rumped vulture

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White-rumped vulture
White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
White-rumped vulture in Mangaon, Raigad, Maharashtra
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Gyps
Species:
G. bengalensis
Binomial name
Gyps bengalensis
(Gmelin, JF, 1788)
GypsBengalensisMap.svg
Former distribution of the white-rumped vulture in red
Synonyms

Pseudogyps bengalensis

The white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) 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 kidney failure caused by diclofenac poisoning. [1] 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". [2] As of 2021, the global population was estimated at less than 6,000 mature individuals. [1]

Contents

It is closely related to the European griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). At one time it was believed to be closer to the white-backed vulture of Africa and was known as the Oriental white-backed vulture. [3]

Taxonomy

The white-rumped vulture was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the vultures in the genus Vultur and coined the binomial name Vultur bengalensis. [4] Gmelin based his description on the "Bengal vulture" that had been described and illustrated in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had seen a live bird at the Tower of London and had been told by the keeper that it had come from Bengal. [5] [6] The white-rumped vulture is now one of eight species placed in the genus Gyps that was introduced in 1809 by the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny. [7] [8] The genus name is from Ancient Greek gups meaning "vultur". [9] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [8]

Description

White-rumped vulture in Desert National Park RAVI.WIKI.WHITERUMPEDVULTURE2.jpg
White-rumped vulture in Desert National Park
Underwing pattern of an adult GypsSilhouette.svg
Underwing pattern of an adult

The white-rumped vulture is a typical, medium-sized vulture, with an unfeathered head and neck, very broad wings, and short tail feathers. It is much smaller than the Eurasian Griffon. It has a white neck ruff. The adult's whitish back, rump, and underwing coverts contrast with the otherwise dark plumage. The body is black and the secondaries are silvery grey. The head is tinged in pink and bill is silvery with dark ceres. The nostril openings are slit-like. Juveniles are largely dark and take about four or five years to acquire the adult plumage. In flight, the adults show a dark leading edge of the wing and has a white wing-lining on the underside. The undertail coverts are black. [10]

It 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 lb), measures 75–93 cm (30–37 in) in length, [10] and has a wingspan of 1.92–2.6 m (6.3–8.5 ft). [11] [12]

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 on carcasses, which it finds by soaring high in thermals and spotting other scavengers. A 19th century experimenter who hid a carcass of dog in a sack in a tree considered it capable of finding carrion by smell. [13] It often flies and sits in flocks. At one time, it was the most numerous vulture in India. [10]

Within the well-supported clade of the genus Gyps which includes Asian, African, and European populations, it has been determined that this species is basal with the other species being more recent in their species divergence. [14] [15]

Behaviour and ecology

A pair of white-rumped vultures in Mangaon White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Pair 1 Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
A pair of white-rumped vultures in Mangaon
White-rumped vultures in Keoladeo National Park Indian White-backed Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) (20014162659).jpg
White-rumped vultures in Keoladeo National Park
Flock of white-rumped vultures near carcass in Mangaon White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Flock gathered near carcass Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
Flock of white-rumped vultures near carcass in Mangaon

White-rumped vultures usually become active when the morning sun is warming up the air so that thermals are sufficient to support their soaring. They were once visible above Calcutta in large numbers. [16]

When they find a carcass, they quickly descend and feed voraciously. They perch on trees nearby and are known to sometimes descend also after dark to feed. At kill sites, they are dominated by red-headed vultures Sarcogyps calvus. [17] In forests, their soaring often indicated a tiger kill. [18] They swallow pieces of old, dry bones such as ribs and of skull pieces from small mammals. [19] Where water is available they bathe regularly and also drink water. A pack of vultures was observed to have cleaned up a whole bullock in about 20 minutes. Trees on which they regularly roost are often white from their excreta, and this acidity often kills the trees. This made them less welcome in orchards and plantations. [20]

They sometimes feed on dead vultures. [21] [22] One white-rumped vulture was observed when getting caught in the mouth of a dying calf. [23] Jungle crows have been sighted to steal food brought by adults and regurgitated to young. [24]

Allan Octavian Hume observed "hundreds of nests" and noted that white-rumped vultures used to nest on large trees near habitations even when there were convenient cliffs in the vicinity. The preferred nesting trees were Banyan, Peepul, Arjun, and Neem. The main nesting period was November to March with eggs being laid mainly in January. Several pairs nest in the vicinity of each other and isolated nests tend to be those of younger birds. Nests are lined with green leaves. [11] In Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, white-rumped vultures used foremost Terminalia arjuna and Spondias mangifera trees for nesting at a mean height of 26.73 m (87.7 ft). Their nests were 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long, 40 cm (16 in) wide and 15 cm (5.9 in) deep. Hatchlings were seen from the first to the second week of January. [25]

Solitary nests are not used regularly and are sometimes taken over by the red-headed vulture and large owls such as Bubo coromandus . The male initially brings twigs and arranges them to form the nest. During courtship the male bills the female's head, back and neck. The female invites copulation, and the male mounts and hold the head of the female in his bill. [26] Usually, the female lays a single egg, which is white with a tinge of bluish-green. Female birds destroy the nest on loss of an egg. They are usually silent but make hissing and roaring sounds at the nest or when jostling for food. [11] The eggs hatch after about 30 to 35 days of incubation. The young chick is covered with grey down. The parents feed them with bits of meat from a carcass. The young birds remain for about three months in the nest. [26]

Mycoplasmas have been isolated from tissues of a white-rumped vulture. [27] Mallophagan parasites such as Falcolipeurus and Colpocephalum turbinatumhave been collected from the species. [28] [29] Ticks, Argas (Persicargas) abdussalami, have been collected in numbers from the roost trees of these vultures in Pakistan. [30]

A captive individual lived for at least 12 years. [31]

Status and decline

In the Indian subcontinent

The white-rumped vulture was originally very common especially in the Gangetic plains of India, and often seen nesting on the avenue trees within large cities in the region. Hugh Whistler noted for instance in his guide to the birds of India that it “is the commonest of all the vultures of India, and must be familiar to those who have visited the Towers of Silence in Bombay.” [32] T. C. Jerdon noted that “[T]his is the most common vulture of India, and is found in immense numbers all over the country, ... At Calcutta one may frequently be seen seated on the bloated corpse of some Hindoo floating up or down with the tide, its wing spread, to assist in steadying it...” [33]

Before the 1990s they were even seen as a nuisance, particularly to aircraft as they were often involved in bird strikes. [34] [35] In 1941 Charles McCann wrote about the death of Borassus palms due to the effect of excreta from vultures roosting on them. [36] In 1990, the species had already become rare in Andhra Pradesh in the districts of Guntur and Prakasham. The hunting of the birds for meat by the Bandola (Banda) people there was attributed as a reason. A cyclone in the region during 1990 resulted in numerous livestock deaths and no vultures were found at the carcasses. [37]

This species, as well as the Indian vulture and slender-billed vulture has suffered a 99% population decrease in India [38] and nearby countries [39] since the early 1990s. The decline has been widely attributed to poisoning by diclofenac, which is used as veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), leaving traces in cattle carcasses which when fed on leads to kidney failure in birds. [40] Diclofenac was also found to be lethal at low dosages to other species in the genus Gyps. [41] [42] Other NSAIDs were also found to be toxic, to Gyps as well as other birds such as storks. [43] It was shown between 2000-2007 annual decline rates in India averaged 43.9% and ranged from 11-61% in Punjab. Organochlorine pesticide residues were found from egg and tissue samples from around India varying in concentrations from 0.002 μg/g of DDE in muscles of vulture from Mudumalai to 7.30 μg/g in liver samples from vultures of Delhi. Dieldrin varied from 0.003 and 0.015 μg/g. Higher concentrations were found in Lucknow. [44] These pesticide levels have not however been implicated in the decline. [45]

An alternate hypothesis is an epidemic of avian malaria, as implicated in the extinctions of birds in the Hawaiian islands. Evidence for the idea is drawn from an apparent recovery of a vulture following chloroquine treatment. [46] Yet another suggestion has been that the population changes may be linked with long term climatic cycles such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. [47]

Affected vultures were initially reported to adopt a drooped neck posture and this was considered a symptom of pesticide poisoning, [3] but subsequent studies suggested that this may be a thermoregulatory response as the posture was seen mainly during hot weather. [48]

It has been suggested that rabies cases have increased in India due to the decline. [49]

In Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, the near-total disappearance of white-rumped vultures predated the present diclofenac crisis, and probably resulted from the collapse of large wild ungulate populations and improved management of dead livestock, resulting in a lack of available carcasses for vultures. [50]

Conservation

Currently, only the Cambodia and Burma populations are thought to be viable though those populations are still very small (low hundreds). [50] It has been suggested that the use of meloxicam (another NSAID) as a veterinary substitute that is safer for vultures would help in the recovery. [51] Campaigns to ban the use of diclofenac in veterinary practice have been underway in several South Asian countries. [52]

Conservation measures have included reintroduction, captive-breeding programs and artificial feeding or "vulture restaurants". [53] Two chicks, which were apparently the first captive-bred white-rumped vultures ever, hatched in January 2007, at a facility at Pinjore. However, they died after a few weeks, apparently because their parents were an inexperienced couple breeding for the first time in their lives – a fairly common occurrence in birds of prey. [54]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulture</span> Common name for a type of bird

A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture. Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald, unfeathered head. This bare skin is thought to keep the head clean when feeding, and also plays an important role in thermoregulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World vulture</span> Informal group of birds

Old World vultures are vultures that are found in the Old World, i.e. the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and which belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian griffon vulture</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian griffon vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with the Rüppell's griffon vulture and Himalayan griffon vulture. It is closely related to the white-backed vulture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan vulture</span> Species of bird

The Himalayan vulture or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the two largest Old World vultures and true raptors. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. It is not to be confused with the Eurasian griffon vulture, which is a similar and sympatric species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian vulture</span> Species of vulture

The Indian vulture or long-billed vulture is a bird of prey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is an Old World vulture belonging to the family of Accipitridae. It is a medium-sized vulture with a small, semi-bald head with little feathers, long beak, and wide dark colored wings. It breeds mainly on small cliffs and hilly crags in central India and south India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded vulture</span> Species of bird

The hooded vulture is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes, which is sister to the larger Gyps genus, both of which are a part of the Aegypiinae subfamily of Old World vultures. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it has a widespread distribution with populations in southern, East and West Africa. It is a scruffy-looking, small vulture with dark brown plumage, a long thin bill, bare crown, face and fore-neck, and a downy nape and hind-neck. Its face is usually a light red colour. It typically scavenges on carcasses of wildlife and domestic animals. Although it remains a common species with a stable population in the lower region of Casamance, some areas of The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, other regions such as Dakar, Senegal, show more than 85% losses in population over the last 50 years. Threats include poisoning, hunting, loss of habitat and collisions with electricity infrastructure, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "critically endangered" in their latest assessment (2022). The highest current regional density of hooded vultures is in the western region of The Gambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian vulture</span> Species of Old World vultures of the genus Neophron

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-backed vulture</span> Species of bird

The white-backed vulture is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the most common vulture species in the continent of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous vulture</span> Species of bird

The cinereous vulture is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of 1.2 m, 3.1 m (10 ft) across the wings and a maximum weight of 14 kg (31 lb), it is the largest Old World vulture and largest member of the Accipitridae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rüppell's vulture</span> Species of bird

Rüppell's vulture, also called Rüppell's griffon vulture, named after Eduard Rüppell, is a large bird of prey, mainly native to the Sahel region and East Africa. The former population of 22,000 has been decreasing due to loss of habitat, incidental poisoning, and other factors. Known also as Rüppell's griffon, Rueppell's griffon, Rüppell's griffin vulture, Rueppell's vulture and other variants, it is not to be confused with a different species, the griffon vulture. Rüppell's vulture is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape vulture</span> Species of bird

The Cape vulture, also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some parts of northern Namibia. It nests on cliffs and lays one egg per year. In 2015, it had been classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, but was down-listed to Vulnerable in 2021 as some populations increased and have been stable since about 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slender-billed vulture</span> Species of bird

The slender-billed vulture is an Old World vulture species native to sub-Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia. It is Critically Endangered since 2002 as the population on the Indian subcontinent has declined rapidly. As of 2021, fewer than 870 mature individuals are thought to remain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudumalai National Park</span> National park in Tamil Nadu, India

Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu in southern India. It covers 321 km2 (124 sq mi) at an elevation range of 850–1,250 m (2,790–4,100 ft) in the Nilgiri District and shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. A part of this area has been protected since 1940. The national park has been part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve since 1986 and was declared a tiger reserve together with a buffer zone of 367.59 km2 (141.93 sq mi) in 2007. It receives an annual rainfall of about 1,420 mm (56 in) and harbours tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests with 498 plant species, at least 266 bird species, 18 carnivore and 10 herbivore species. It is drained by the Moyar River and several tributaries, which harbour 38 fish species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-headed vulture</span> Species of bird

The red-headed vulture, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-headed vulture</span> Species of bird

The white-headed vulture is an Old World vulture endemic to Africa. Populations have been declining steeply in recent years due to habitat degradation and poisoning of vultures at carcasses. An extinct relative was also present in the Indonesian island of Flores during the Late Pleistocene, indicating that the genus was more widespread in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian vulture crisis</span> Ecological crisis in Indian subcontinent

Nine species of vulture can be found living in India, but most are now in danger of extinction after a rapid and major population collapse in recent decades. In the early 1980s, three species of Gyps vultures had a combined estimated population of 40 million in South Asia, while in 2017 the total population numbered only 19,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore</span> Critically Endangered Bird Breeding Centre in Haryana, India

The Jatayu and Sparrow Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC), is the world's largest facility for the breeding and conservation of Indian vultures and the house sparrow. It is located within the Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary in the town of Pinjore in the State of Haryana, India. It is run by the Haryana Forests Department and Bombay Natural History Society with the help of British nature conservation charity Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Pinjore and covers 5 acres (2.0 ha).

A vulture restaurant is a site where carrion, decaying flesh from dead animals, is deposited in order to be consumed by vultures, and is sometimes referred to more generally as supplemental feeding or provisioning. These stations can also be referred to as vulture feeding sites, vulture feeding stations, and vulture safe zones. This supplemental feeding practice is used to provide vultures with reliable, non-contaminated food sources or to aid in monitoring schemes. Vulture restaurants have been instituted as a method of vulture conservation in Europe and Africa since the 1960's and 70's, when vulture populations began to decline. This strategy is used because often population declines are attributed to low food availability, food contamination or insufficient nutritional quality, or feeding from human areas leading to conflict. Notably, large vulture population declines in South Asia, referred to as the Asian or Indian vulture crisis, and Africa, referred to as the African vulture crisis, have brought renewed attention to the uses and impacts of vulture restaurants. Vulture restaurants are used in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America for various conservation and management plans. They can help combat food-derived threats to vultures, such as diclofenac or lead contamination or conflict with ranchers and poachers. The first vulture restaurant was built in South Africa in 1966. Vulture restaurants operate in a number of countries, including Nepal, India, Cambodia, South Africa, Eswatini, and Spain.

Debbie Pain is a conservation biologist and ecotoxicologist working on endangered birds around the world. Since 1988 she has led projects into reversing the decline in several species through research, practical and policy measures at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Wildlife and Wetlands Trust.

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