Red-headed vulture

The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), also known as the

Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry Red-headed vulture
vulture,[2] is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian
subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of
Southeast Asia.

Description
It is 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).[3][4] 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.[5]

Male in Bandhavgarh National Park,

India

Conservation status

Red headed vulture female at Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Ranthambore
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
The red-headed vulture is very similar in appearance to its larger
relative the Lappet-faced vulture in Africa and Arabia, even Kingdom: Animalia
being historically placed in the genus Torgos [6]
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Taxonomy and systematics
Order: Accipitriformes
This is a species of Old World vulture found in the Indian
Family: Accipitridae
subcontinent. It has no subspecies.
Genus: Sarcogyps
Distribution and habitat Lesson, 1842

Species: S. calvus
This gaudy-faced vulture was historically abundant, range
widely across the Indian subcontinent, and also eastwards to Binomial name
south-central and south-eastern Asia, extending from India to
Singapore. Today the range of the red-headed vulture is Sarcogyps calvus
localized primarily to northern India. It is usually in open country
(Scopoli, 1786)
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.[7]

Conservation status
The red-headed vulture used to be declining, but only slowly; in
2004 the species was uplisted to near threatened from least
concern by the IUCN. The widespread use of the NSAID Current distribution range of red
diclofenac in veterinary medicine in India has caused its headed vulture
population to collapse in recent years, however. Diclofenac is a
compound now known to be extremely poisonous to vultures. Synonyms
The red-headed vulture population has essentially halved every
other year since the late 1990s, and what once was a plentiful Aegypius calvus
species numbering in the hundreds of thousands has come Torgos calvus
dangerously close to extinction in less than two decades.

A female red-headed vulture (left) and a Lappet-faced vulture (right). Both have similar anatomical features
including skull shapes and the dangling skin lappets. They are believed to be closely related

Consequently, it was uplisted to critically endangered in the 2007 IUCN Red List.[1]

Several NSAIDs have been found to be harmful to scavenging birds. Diclofenac, carprofen, flunixin,
ibuprofen and phenylbutazone were associated with mortality. Meloxicam has thus far been found to be
"Vulture-Safe" and its use in veterinary treatment of livestock is being encouraged.[8][9]

The red-headed vulture has become increasingly difficult to find due to hunting. In places like Cambodia,
special programs have been implemented to support critically endangered vulture species. Evidence has
shown that hunters have started using poisons in their hunting practices.[10] Population analysis indicates
that since 2010, populations of the White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Red-headed Vulture
(Sarcogyps calvus) have declined, while the Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) may have also
begun to decline since 2013.[10]

In an assessment made in 2021 assessed there are 2500-9999 mature individuals in the wild.[1]

Threats

Pharmaceutical Toxins and Diclofenac

A significant factor in the rapid decline of Red-headed Vulture populations since the 21st century is the
pharmaceutical NSAID diclofenac, used to treat livestock. This substance has proven highly toxic to
vultures, leading to mortality from renal failure and visceral gout. Recent findings indicate that Red-headed
Vulture populations in India have shown signs of recovery following a ban on diclofenac, suggesting the
drug's adverse effects on the species.[1]

Human Activities

Incidental mortality occurs in Cambodia due to the widespread use of poisons for catching fish or
waterbirds at trapeangs (waterholes). Intentional poisoning for belief-based use has also been reported in
Cambodia. Additionally, the logging of nesting trees, electrocution, and collisions with powerlines are
potential threats to the species.[1]

Competition Among Vulture Species

In the shared ecosystem, dominant vulture species like Gyps vultures have a competitive advantage in
scavenging on carcasses. They typically outcompete the Red-headed Vulture for access to food resources,
which can lead to food scarcity for the species. As a result, the Red-headed Vulture may have limited
access to suitable feeding opportunities, potentially affecting its survival and contributing to its population
decline.[1]

References
1. BirdLife International (2021). "Sarcogyps calvus" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22695
254/205031246). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22695254A205031246.
Retrieved 30 August 2022.
2. Ali, S. (1993). The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society.
ISBN 978-0-19-563731-1.
3. WWF- Red-headed Vulture (http://www.cambodia.panda.org/wwf_in_cambodia/endangered
_species/birds/critically_endangered_vultures/) (2011).
4. Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead & Burton. Houghton Mifflin
(2001), ISBN 0-618-12762-3
5. Naoroji, Rishad (2006). Birds of Prey of the Indian subcontinent. pp. 282–287.
6. "Vultures=29 September 2022" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234143512).
Researchgate.
7. Ferguson-Lees, James; David A. Christie (2001-09-17). Raptors of the world. Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 443–444. ISBN 978-0-618-12762-7.
8. Cuthbert, Richard; et al. (2007). "NSAIDs and scavenging birds: potential impacts beyond
Asia's critically endangered vultures" (http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/1/91).
Biology Letters. The Royal Society. 3 (1): 90–93. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0554 (https://doi.org/
10.1098%2Frsbl.2006.0554). PMC 2373805 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PM
C2373805). PMID 17443974 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17443974). Retrieved 11 May
2011.
9. Milius, Susan (4 February 2006). [tp://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/7025/title/Bird-
Safe_Rx_Alternative_drug_wont_kill_Indias_svultures "Bird-Safe Rx: Alternative drug won't
kill India's vultures"]. ScienceNews. 169 (#5): 70. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
10. Loveridge, Robin. “Poisoning Causing the Decline in South-East Asia’s Largest Vulture
Population.” , 8 Mar. 2019, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bird-conservation-
 international/article/poisoning-causing-the-decline-in-southeast-asias-largest-vulture-
population

External links
Vulture Territory Facts and Characteristics: Pondicherry Vulture (http://www.vulture-territory.c
om/pondicherry.html)
BirdLife Species Factsheet. (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=Spc
HTMDetails.asp&sid=3383&m=0)

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