Hooded Vulture
Necrosyrtes monachus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderAccipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
- FamilyAccipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
- GenusNecrosyrtes
- SpeciesNecrosyrtes monachus (Hooded Vulture)
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
About the Hooded Vulture
The hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes, which is sister to the larger Gyps genus, both of which are a part of the Aegypiinae subfamily of Old World vultures. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it has a widespread distribution with populations in southern, East and West Africa. It is a scruffy-looking, small vulture with dark brown plumage, a long thin bill, bare crown, face and fore-neck, and a downy nape and hind-neck. Its face is usually a light red colour. It typically scavenges on carcasses of wildlife and domestic animals. Although it remains a common species with a stable population in the lower region of Casamance, some areas of The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, other regions such as Dakar, Senegal, show more than 85% losses in population over the last 50 years. Threats include poisoning, hunting, loss of habitat and collisions with electricity infrastructure, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "critically endangered" in their latest assessment (2022). The highest current regional density of hooded vultures is in the western region of The Gambia. Wikipedia →
Sounds
Call0:11
Ethiopia · 2014
© Andrew Spencer · XC277866 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Recent sightings of Hooded Vulture in Accra
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 2 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 4 | Freetown | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | |
| 5 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 7 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 8 | Kumasi | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 9 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
Closest Relatives at Accra
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Hooded Vulture in Accra?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Vulture sighting in Accra on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 87th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Hooded Vulture in Accra?
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Vulture in Accra on a given day, against under 5% in March and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Accra's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain against 20 mm in January.
What time of day is best to see a Hooded Vulture?
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hooded Vulture sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Accra the best place to see a Hooded Vulture?
7th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Hooded Vulture sightings, Accra ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Serrekunda (Gambia, about 90%), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, about 70%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 40%).
Which relatives of the Hooded Vulture live in Accra?
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Hooded Vulture that you can see in Accra (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Black Kite (about 70%), Black-winged Kite (about 10%) and Western Marsh-Harrier (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Hooded Vulture sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hooded Vulture is recorded against all the birds logged in Accra (50 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.