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Doug J | all galleries >> Birds, Birds, Birds >> Non-passeriformes Gallery > Ruppell's Griffon
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Ruppell's Griffon

Scientific name: Gyps rueppellii
Order: Falconiformes

Also called Rueppell's Vulture, Ruppell's Griffin Vulture

Ruppell's Griffons are highly social, roosting, nesting, and gathering to feed in large flocks. They can travel fast at need, cruising at up to 35 km/h, and will fly as far as 150 km from a nest site to find food. They can reach great heights, 6,000 m (20,000 ft) is not uncommon, and on one exceptional occasion, an aircraft over the Côte d'Ivoire collided with a Rüppell's Vulture at the astonishing altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft), the current record avian height.

They are creatures of the more arid and mountainous areas of Africa: particularly semi-desert and the fringes of deserts. They roost on inaccessible rock ledges if these are available, or in trees, usually Acacia. When thermal updrafts start to develop enough lift, about two hours after sunrise, Ruppell's Griffons leave the roost and begin to patrol over the plains, using their exceptionally keen eyesight to find large animal carcasses, or carnivores which have made a kill. They will wait, several days if necessary, until a carnivore leaves a carcass. They have been known to take live prey on occasion, but this is rare.

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Canon EOS 10D ,Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
1/640s f/5.6 at 130mm (EF 70-200mm + EF 1.4x TC) ISO 200 full exif

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comment
steve 01-May-2004 10:51
Gyps rueppellii.