UGANDA BIRD GUIDES
The Palmnut vulture
a.k.a
Gypohierax angolensis

Planning a birding Safari at the end your next business trip to Africa...? Get ready to meet the Palmnut vulture.

The Palmnut vulture (also known as the Vulturine Fish Eagle) is superfically similar to the fish eagle, solitary and highly sedentary; this African bird spends most of her day resting near palm-fringed waterways and lakes. When compared with the fish eagle, this bird appears to have more white than black, no chestnut and a red rather than yellow cere.

In this section of the Birding Safari Guide we share with you information about Palmnut vultures in Uganda in order to make your Bird watching tour to Africa even more fascinating.

You will find information about:

• Where to find the Palmnut vulture in Uganda
• How to Identify a Palmnut vulture and
• Interesting facts about Palmnut vultures.

Where to find the Palmnut vulture in Uganda

You will most likely find the Palmnut Vulture scavenging on the sea-shore. This african bird is also strongly associated with oil palms.

In Uganda, these birds are resident and locally common in Westen Uganda at Lake Mburo National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

How you will know that you've seen a Palmnut vulture

You will see a large boldly marked black and white raptor about 60cm, with large black patches in the wings and a white-tipped black tail.

The perched bird has a rather hunched appearance, with a long bill and large area of bare pinkish skin around the eyes.

The sexes are alike but the female bird is larger than the male.

You will identify a juvenile by his scruffy and all brown appearance, except for the dull yellow-green orbital skin, and whitish greater coverts on the underwing.

The sub-adult bird is more white, including primary patches on both the upper and underwings.

The chick is brown, has a brown iris and has whitish facial skin and legs.

In flight, you will identify a Palmnut Vuture by his round-wing and short silhouette tail, and by the bird's unique bold black and white wing parttern visible at great distance.

The adult Palmnut vulture weighs about 1,321-1712 grammes.

Interesting Facts about Palmnut vulture

The song of a Palmnut vulture you will hear is a downslurred wheezy screaming whistle.

The Palmnut vulture mainly feed on husks of raffia fruit which she tears off with her bill while the fruit is held with the foot.

This bird also eats dates, grains, seeds, small birds and mammals, lizards, crabs, locusts, frogs and carrion.

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