Overview
Standing over a carcass with its bare pink head, heavy bill and enormous wings, the lappet-faced vulture is one of Africa’s most imposing birds. It is the largest vulture commonly encountered in Tanzania and often dominates smaller scavengers when it arrives to feed.
Its exceptionally strong bill can tear through thick skin, tendons and other tough parts that many vultures struggle to open. By breaking into a fresh carcass, it can unintentionally create access for white-backed vultures and other scavengers waiting nearby. Lappet-faced vultures also favour parts such as skin, ligaments and the remains around an animal’s head and jaws.
Despite its commanding presence at a carcass, it usually occurs in much smaller numbers than white-backed vultures. Individuals range widely over open country in search of food, soaring for long periods on broad wings while watching both the ground and the movements of other scavenging birds.
Behaviour & How to Identify
Look for an enormous dark vulture with a bare pink or reddish head, fleshy folds of skin along the sides of the face and neck, and a massive pale bill. These folds are known as lappets and give the species its common name.
The body is mainly dark brown or blackish, with contrasting white feathering on the thighs. In flight, its huge wings appear broad and rectangular, while the pale legs often extend beyond the short tail. Younger birds have darker heads and less vivid facial colouring than mature adults.
At a carcass, lappet-faced vultures use their size and bill strength to displace smaller birds. They may feed alone or alongside other vultures, but they are less likely to form the dense crowds associated with white-backed vultures.
Interesting facts
Its bill can open food that smaller vultures cannot reach. By tearing through thick hide and tendons, a lappet-faced vulture may provide access for an entire gathering of scavengers.
It does not live entirely on carrion. Lappet-faced vultures occasionally take live prey, including small birds, reptiles and young or weakened animals, although scavenging remains their main feeding strategy.
They usually raise only one chick at a time. The long breeding cycle means populations recover very slowly after poisoning or other large losses.