Lappet-faced Vulture
Torgos tracheliotos
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
- GenusTorgos
- SpeciesTorgos tracheliotos (Lappet-faced Vulture)
The lappet-faced vulture or Nubian vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only extant member of the genus Torgos. It is not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures, and does not share the good sense of smell of some members of that family of birds. The lappet-faced vulture was formerly considered monotypical, but now is separated into two subspecies. The nominate race lives throughout Africa. The subspecies T. t. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
African Fish-Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
Brown Snake Eagle
Circaetus cinereus
Black-breasted Snake Eagle
Circaetus pectoralis
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
African Marsh-Harrier
Circus ranivorus
Fasciated Snake Eagle
Circaetus fasciolatus
African Cuckoo-Hawk
Aviceda cuculoides
Ayres's Hawk-Eagle
Hieraaetus ayresii
Long-crested Eagle
Lophaetus occipitalis
Crowned Eagle
Stephanoaetus coronatus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Lappet-faced Vulture at iSimangaliso Wetland Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there