Overview
Once regarded as one of Africa’s most abundant vultures, the species has suffered severe declines and is now globally Critically Endangered.
Their pale head and neck are covered with short down rather than long feathers, helping them remain cleaner while feeding inside carcasses.
White-backed vultures specialise in feeding on the softer tissues of large animal carcasses. By consuming remains quickly, they recycle nutrients and reduce the amount of decaying flesh available to disease-carrying insects and mammals.
Behaviour & How to Identify
Look for a large brown vulture with a pale head, whitish neck ruff, broad wings and a short tail. The white or cream-coloured lower back is most visible when the bird is perched or bends forwards, while adults show strongly contrasting pale wing coverts and dark flight feathers in the air.
White-backed vultures spend hours soaring on rising columns of warm air known as thermals. This energy-efficient flight allows them to cover enormous areas while searching for carcasses and watching the movements of other vultures and scavengers.
They locate food primarily through exceptionally keen eyesight rather than smell. A descending vulture can attract the attention of others, and large numbers may gather rapidly once a carcass has been found. At a kill, they feed quickly and competitively, inserting their long necks through openings in the carcass to reach soft tissue.
Interesting facts
They find food mainly by sight. While soaring, they scan the ground and watch other scavenging birds for signs that a carcass has been discovered.
They may regurgitate food when threatened. Reducing the weight in the stomach can make it easier to take flight, while the expelled meal may also distract an approaching predator.
They normally raise only one chick at a time. Their slow reproductive rate means populations cannot quickly replace the large numbers lost to poisoning and other threats.