Description:

Huge vulture with whitish head, neck and collar; dark centres to greater upperwing-coverts. Yellowish bill with blackish cere, downy head and neck, fluffy white ruff, rufescent-buff upper/underparts and dark grey legs and feet; rufous-brown underwing-coverts usually show prominent whitish banding.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through the central and western parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Expansive open areas; wide range of habitats, including mountains, plateaux, steppe and even semidesert, during migration upto 4000m.

Behavior:

Soars and glides over vast areas, searching for carcasses and watching other vultures. Gathers in small numbers at carcasses; these can be devoured very rapidly. At carcasses, dominant over other vultures. Feeds almost exclusively, carrion; feeds mainly on muscles and viscera of medium sized and large mammals, especially ungulates.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Griffon Vulture in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Griffon Vulture

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.