Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus ) Manipuri: Langja ngak-ngangbi
- Critically Endangered: CR -
The Threatened Birds of Manipur

R.K. Birjit Singh *

Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus ) Manipuri: Langja ngak-ngangbi

Classification:

Kindgdom Animalia
Phylum Chordatata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Sarcogyps
Species: calvus
Binomial Name:
Sarcogyps calvus
(Scopoli, 1786)
Red List Category & Criteria:IUCN: Crtically Endangered (CR) D ver 3.1

Record of shooting and killing of the species in Manipur

Year	Number
1971	02
Total	02

History of the Species:

The Red–headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) was described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1786. The species is also known as King Vulture, Asian king Vulture or Indian Black Vulture. It is one of the most unmistakable among vulture species. There had been no or poor record of the presence of the species in Manipur except some unconfirmed hunters record of killing of two individual species in 1971 at Senapati district bordering with Phek district of Nagaland during IBCN’s bird survey in 2007.

But concrete document regarding the presence of the species is not available still now. The only hope is that the species has been reported from the part of the Phek district of Nagaland bordering with Senapati district of Manipur. The area has been poorly birded in the past and has never got the attention it deserves unlike other parts of Manipur.

Description of the species:

Size: Length: ± 75 cm. It has bare reddish head and cere with white patches at base of the neck and upper thighs. Despite being a medium-sized vulture, this species still possesses an impressive wingspan of over two metres with black-feathered body.

Distribution: Formerly widespread throughout the Indian sub-continent and south-east Asia, in recent decades the red-headed vulture has undergone significant declines in both range and population. It has become uncommon in Nepal, and is rare in Pakistan, the north-east of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is sparsely distributed throughout most of India and remains fairly common in the west Himalayan foothills; although, it is rare or absent in some areas such as the north-eastern states of India and Gujarat.

Food: Carcass meat and splinter bones

Status in Manipur: Not seen since 1971

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* R.K. Birjit Singh wrote this article for e-pao.net
The writer is Environmentalist/Ornithologist and a State Coordinator, IBCN, Manipur and can be contacted at bsningthemcha(at)gmail(dot)com
This article was posted on October 17, 2014.

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