Egyptian Vulture

Neophron percnopterus

One of the few birds that uses tools — drops stones to crack ostrich eggs. Your message is in clever hands.

Population: 12,400–36,000 mature individuals, decreasing
Habitat: Open, arid and semi-arid lowland and montane country — dry plains, deserts, grasslands, savanna, and rocky cliffs/canyons used for nesting; also human-occupied areas near villages/towns for foraging; generally avoids forest; ranges up to ~2,000 m elevation (Himalayan foothills) in summer.
Fun fact: The Egyptian Vulture is one of the few birds known to use tools — it picks up and throws stones with its bill to crack open thick-shelled ostrich eggs, and separately uses twigs to gather wool for nest lining.
Range: Fragmented range across southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central/South Asia into India, with isolated populations in southern Africa (e.g. Namibia); resident populations in the Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, and Socotra; northern breeders are migratory and winter in the Sahel and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.
Diet: Opportunistic, indiscriminate scavenger feeding mainly on carrion and refuse/garbage, supplemented with small mammals, reptiles, insects (incl. in dung), and bird eggs; the only Old World vulture that regularly consumes feces (source of carotenoids for facial coloration); one of the few bird species known to use tools, cracking large eggs such as ostrich eggs by throwing/tossing stones at them with its bill.
Size: 0.6 m
Wingspan: 1.6 m
Lifespan: 21 years

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