Context:

The World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-India), in collaboration with Bird Count India and eBird, will launch Vulture Count 2024 on September 7, coinciding with International Vulture Awareness Day.

More on the news

• Its aims to monitor and conserve India’s vulture populations by gathering baseline data to track trends, identify key habitats, and assess environmental impacts. 
• The drive will run until October 6 and is designed to inform targeted conservation strategies and raise public awareness about these endangered birds.
• The count will focus on key vulture species, including the white-rumped vulture, red-headed vulture, Indian vulture, bearded vulture, slender-billed vulture, Himalayan griffon, Eurasian griffon, Egyptian vulture, and cinereous vulture.

About Vulture

• Vultures are large, carnivorous birds renowned for their scavenging nature. 
• These intelligent birds play a crucial role in maintaining environmental cleanliness and preventing disease spread. 
• They are found on every continent except Antarctica, Australia, and surrounding islands. 
• There are 9 species of vultures found in India.

Vultures are classified into two main groups: 

Old World Vultures: 

• Inhabit Asia, Africa, and Europe, and are closely related to hawks and eagles, though not to New World vultures. 
• They rely primarily on their keen eyesight to locate food, have strong feet, and produce a range of vocalizations including grunts, chatter, and screeches. 

Conservation status of 9 Species in India

• Critically Endangered: Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus), Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) and White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis).
• Endangered: Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus).
• Least Concern: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus).
• Near Threatened: Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis), Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus).

New World Vultures: 

• They are found in the Americas and are not closely related to Old World vultures; their connection is more evolutionary than genetic. 
• Typically smaller, New World vultures use both sight and smell to find food. 
• They have weaker, flat feet and produce only hissing and grunting sounds.

Physical Characteristics:

• Wide wingspans for soaring; the Andean condor is the largest, while the hooded vulture is the smallest.
• Rueppell’s griffon vulture is the highest-flying bird.
• Bare heads and necks aid in hygiene and thermoregulation; sunbakes germs off their heads.

Feeding Habits:

• Scavenge rather than hunt; consume nearly all parts of carcasses except bones. 
• Engage in urohydrosis (urinating on legs) to stay cool and kill bacteria.

Social Behavior:

• Can be solitary or social; often feed in groups known as a committee, volt, or venue, and in flight as a kettle.
• Exceptional eyesight, spotting carcasses from up to four miles away.
• New World vultures wait for other predators to open carcasses.

Reproduction:

• Most mate for life; display aerial courtship by soaring and showing off flying skills.
• Old World vultures build large stick nests, while New World vultures lay eggs in bare scrapes.
• Female lays 1-3 eggs; both parents incubate and care for chicks until they are independent.

Defense Mechanisms:

• Vomit when threatened to deter predators or lighten body weight for escape.

Lifespan:

• Vultures can live up to 50 years in the wild.

Threats:

• Include the ingestion of toxic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like diclofenac, commonly used in livestock treatment, as well as habitat loss, electrocution, food scarcity, and human disturbances.