Vultures are back: King Vulture at Corbett

From the archive record

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. It is 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). It has a prominent naked head: deep-red to orange in the adult, paler red in the juvenile. It has a black body with pale grey band at the base of the flight feathers. The sexes differ in colour of the iris: males have a paler, whitish iris, whilst in females it is dark brown. Source : Wikipedi