diagnostics

98-105 cm, 4.4-8.5 kg. Sexes alike. The Lappet-faced Vulture is characterised by its massive size, large bare head with pink and blue skin with prominent skin folds and lappets, plus robust bill, especially compared with the superficially similar Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus. The adult shows white leggings and white lines through the middle of the underwing coverts, but is otherwise dark. Bill yellowish with blue base and cere. Eye dark. Legs and feet pale blue-grey. Juveniles transition to adult plumage over about six years, and differ from adults mainly in their brown ‘leggings' and darker bills. Young birds also lack white wing markings and thus appear very similar to juvenile and immature Hooded Vultures and White-headed Vultures Aegypius occipitalis (Mundy et al. 1992, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001).

trophic

The Lappet-faced Vulture inhabits woodland regions of South Africa and Swaziland, with an apparent preference for drier woodlands, although it likely extended into other biomes ancestrally, e.g. the Karoo (Mundy et al. 1992, Mundy 1997). Like the White-headed Vulture, it typically occurs in fairly small numbers at large carcasses, especially when compared with Gyps vultures, but is also regularly found at smaller carcasses and indeed may be more reliant on these for its regular food supply than the large carcasses which attract big numbers of Gyps vultures (Mundy et al. 1992, Piper 2005). It dominates other vulture species at carcasses and is a regular kleptoparasite. The Lappet-faced Vulture, with its huge beak, seems to feed mainly on skin, meat and skin on jaw bones, tendons and ligaments at large carcasses. It appears to have a special liking for heads of animals, items other vultures are less well equipped to deal with. Lappet-faced Vultures are known to kill small animals outright but the true extent of this active predation is still unknown. The species is capable of long-distance movements, as evidenced by ring recoveries (Oatley 1998), but is not migratory (Mundy 1997, Piper 2005). Like other vultures, the Lappet-faced Vulture drinks and bathes regularly (Mundy 1997).

The breeding biology of the Lappet-faced Vulture is fairly well known (Mundy et al. 1992, Piper 2005, Tarboton 2011). The species is monogamous. The age of first breeding is at least six years. A generation length of 15 years is provided by BirdLife International (2014). Nests are typically solitary in the region but in other areas where the species is common (or suitable breeding sites are rare and localised) nests may be loosely clustered, i.e. sometimes as close as 700 m apart. The gigantic nests are situated in the crowns of trees, are built of sticks and usually lined with grass, and are often re-used. The egg-laying period spans May-July in the region with the clutch comprising a single egg, or very rarely two eggs. Females may re-lay after early failure. Incubation is by both sexes and spans 55 days. The nestling period is 120-128 days. The post-fledging dependence period is up to a further 170 days. Breeding success is reported at 44%. The species is single brooded. Natural causes of breeding failure include predation of nestlings by African Wild Cat Felis lybica and Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius, as well as also possibly by Leopard Panthera pardus.