Red Headed Vulture

Red-headed Vulture

The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) is also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture (though there are unrelated species in the New World which share the names king vulture and black vulture). 

It is mainly found in the Indian Subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia

Its a medium-sized vulture of 76 to 86 cm (30 to 34 in) in length, weighing 3.5–6.3 kg (7.7–13.9 lb) and having a wingspan of about 1.99–2.6 m (6.5–8.5 ft).

 The sexes differ in colour of the iris: males have a paler, whitish iris, whilst in females it is dark brown.

This gaudy-faced vulture was historically abundant, range widely across the Indian Subcontinent, and also eastwards to south-central and south-eastern Asia, extending from India to Singapore.

The red-headed vulture used to be declining, but only slowly; in 2004 the species was uplisted to Near Threatened from Least Concern by the IUCN.