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Rueppell's Vulture
(Gyps rueppelli)
: "Rüppell's Vulture", "Rüppell's Griffon [Vulture]"
German name(s): "Sperbergeier"
Size: 0.85-1.0 m; wing span 2.25-2.6 m
Weight: 6.4-9 kg
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Rueppell's Vultures are large vultures.
The underparts are dark-grey, with an unfeathered light-grey head
and neck.
Also the underwing coverts are dark-grey, with lighter grey spots,
while the flight feathers are black.
The upperparts, including the coverts of the upperwings, are
grey. The flight feathers are dark-grey to black, as on the
underside. Also the short, often fanned, tail is dark-grey.
Juveniles
have a clearly visible white wing bar near the leading edge.
Seen against harsh sunlight from below at a great distance,
Rueppell's Vultures can appear to be all-dark on the underside,
with a pale head and neck sticking out, often downwards.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Rueppell's
Vulture at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of Rueppell's Vulture is available
HERE
.
Rueppell's Vultures live in sub-Saharan Africa with a range
spanning the width of the Sahel, from the West to the East
coast. They are also present in the East African highlands,
as far to the South as Tanzania.
In Europe Rueppell's Vultures are rare vagrants that are found only
on the Iberian peninsula.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports spotting Rueppell's
Vultures near Mora, Evora, Portugal, in October/November 2013.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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Ventral view of a Rueppell's Vulture
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Ventral views of a soaring juvenile Rueppell's Vulture
(note the pale wing bar) having a good look around
(photos courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2013]
Ventral view of juvenile Rueppell's Vulture moving away
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2013]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.