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The Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres), 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.
Its members are sometimes known as griffon vultures. Gyps vultures have a slim head, a long slender neck with downy feathers, and a ruff around the neck formed by long buoyant feathers. The crown of their big beaks is a little compressed, and their big dark nostrils are set transverse to the beak.
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors ). [ 2 ] 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 .
Cape vulture Gyps coprotheres: Southern Africa: Sarcogyps Lesson, 1842: Red-headed vulture Sarcogyps calvus: The Indian Subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in Southeast Asia: Trigonoceps Lesson, 1842: White-headed vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis: Sub-Saharan Africa. Extinct populations have occurred in Indonesia. [7] Torgos Kaup, 1828 ...
Recent efforts have concentrated on the white-headed vulture, with a population of only 3,685 adults continent-wide, according to BirdLife International, and only a small percentage of that figure ...
Excluding vagrants, three vulture species still exist in North Africa: the griffon vulture, lammergeier, and Egyptian vulture. Two other species (the cinereous vulture and lappet-faced vulture) have now died out from the region. [10] The Egyptian vulture is found across North Africa, while the Eurasian griffon is restricted to the Atlas Mountains.
The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm (37–48 in) long with a 2.3–2.8 m (7 ft 7 in – 9 ft 2 in) wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb) and females typically weigh 6.5 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb), while in the Indian subspecies (G. f. fulvescens), the vultures average 7.1 kg (16 lb).
The asteroid that killed most dinosaurs 66 million years ago left behind traces of its own origin. Researchers think they know where the Chicxulub impactor came from based on levels of ruthenium.