1 The Egyptian Vulture of Gachibowli Neophron percnopterus Pradeep Kumar Hill Ridge Apartments, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India March, April 2014
2 The Egyptian Vulture of Gachibowli A photostory developed exclusively for the residents of Hill Ridge Apartments, Gachibowli, Hyderabad © 2014 Pradeep Kumar Narsupalli, Hyderabad, India [email protected]
3 First sighted on 10 March 2014, this bird has been visiting us since then.
4
5 One may notice it hovering over Hill Ridge Villas and Apartments in the mornings around 8-10 am
6 One may also notice it perched on the top floors of the building behind our apartments.
7
8 It stays here for a considerable time viewing the surroundings for food.
9 Egyptian vultures are smaller, have shorter neck and elongated beak compared to other vultures
10
11 They use tools - like stones - to break egg shells
12
13 Their range covers southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India.
14
15 Measuring almost 3 feet from beak to tail, they have a wingspan of 6 feet
16
17 These vultures are endangered because the drug Diclofenac for treating cattle caused rapid population decline in India
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33 Diamond shaped tail is easily noticeable during flight
34
35
36 Seems to be exploring a place suitable for nesting
37
38
39 Very often a black kite comes to drive him away
40 The vulture is much bigger than the kite
41
42
43 One day, a house crow (not in pic) passing by noticed this vulture and started challenging it. The vulture ignored the pestering crow for some time, but finally shooed it off
44 Dates photographed: March 10, 22, 26, 28 April 01, 02, 05, 08, 26, 28, 30 Time usually between 8 and 10 am except on two days
45 On April 8, two Egyptian vultures were sighted, chasing each other Male and female look alike
46 Goodbye for now Hope to see again