Gypohierax angolensis
Silhouette: Kai Caspar · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The palm-nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) or vulturine fish eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae (which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers, vultures, and eagles). It is the only member of the genus Gypohierax.
This bird is an Old World vulture (only distantly related to the New World vultures, which are in a separate family, the Cathartidae). It breeds in forest and savannah across sub-Saharan Africa, usually near water, its range coinciding with that of the oil and Raffia palms. It is quite approachable, like many African vultures, and can be seen near habitation, even on large hotel lawns in the tourist areas of countries such as the Gambia.
The palm-nut vulture was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the eagles, hawks and falcons in the genus Falco and coined the binomial name Falco angolensis. Gmelin based his description on the "Angola vulture" that had been described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds.... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 6 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 7 | Lagos | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 8 | Freetown | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | |
| 9 | Monrovia | 🇱🇷 Liberia | |
| 10 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Réserve africaine de Sigean | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | São Paulo Zoo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Zoo Aquarium de Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Zoo d'Upie | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | The Zoo Wild Life Park | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 18 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 19 | Cim d'Àligues | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 21 | Volerie des aigles | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 22 | Donjon des aigles | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 23 | Fauconnerie du Puy du Fou | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 24 | Parco Gallorose | 🇮🇹 Italy |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Palmnut Vulture sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 96th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Palmnut Vulture in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in March to July, the lowest months. That is one of Durban's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 210 mm in January.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Palmnut 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.
10th of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Palmnut Vulture sightings, Durban ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kampala (Uganda, about 40%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%) and Mombasa (Kenya, about 30%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Palmnut Vulture that you can see in Durban (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Black Kite (about 20%) and African Fish-Eagle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Palmnut Vulture is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (62 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.
