Palm-nut Vulture ( Gypohierax angolensis, family: Accipitridae)

Palm nut vulture kruger national park birds The Palm-nut Vulture (Latin name Gypohierax angolensis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 147 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 483 also a picture of the Palm-nut Vulture on page 481. The Palm-nut Vulture belongs to the family of birds classified as Accipitridae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Palm-nut Vulture is also known by these other names: Vulturine Fish-Eagle, Eagle Vulture.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Palm-nut Vulture is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a rare resident

In terms of distribution of the Palm-nut Vulture in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Palm-nut Vulture : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Palm-nut Vulture is a largish bird about the same size as a Pied Crow. The height of the Palm-nut Vulture is about 60 cms and its weight is about 1500 gms

The male and female Palm-nut Vulture have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is cream.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is yellow.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is cream.
  • Legs are yellow.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Palm-nut Vulture feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly

Smaller animals

Fruits

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Palm-nut Vulture is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Gypohierax angolensis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Palm-nut Vulture is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Palm-nut Vulture are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas. Comments about the Palm-nut Vulture :eats other dead birds and dead animals do not kill itself.

You will not see Palm-nut Vulture in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Witaasvol

German ... Palmengeier

Portuguese ... Abutre-das-palmeiras

French ... Palmiste africain

Dutch ... Palmgier, Gierarend

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 147

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za