Hooded Vulture

Hooded Vulture

Necrosyrtes monachus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCNTVUENCRCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Ouagadougou

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

36 Verified sightings at Ouagadougou
6,074 In all 30 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

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

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
2 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
3 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~30%
4 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~20%
5 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
6 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~20%
7 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~20%
8 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
9 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
10 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
11 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~20%
12 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
13 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
14 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~20%
15 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
16 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
17 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
18 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
19 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
20 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
21 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
22 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
23 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
24 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
25 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
26 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
27 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
28 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
29 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
30 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~90%
2 Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~70%
3 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~40%
4 Freetown 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
~40%
5 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
6 Dakar 🇸🇳 Senegal
~10%
7 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~10%
8 Kumasi 🇬🇭 Ghana
~10%
9 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Pairi Daiza 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
2 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 Cabarceno Natural Park 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
4 Ostrava Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
5 Réserve africaine de Sigean 🇫🇷 France In captivity
6 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
7 Rocamadour Monkey Forest 🇫🇷 France In captivity
8 Nandankanan Zoological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
9 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
10 Wisentgehege Springe 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
11 Safari Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
12 Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
13 Oakland Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Detroit Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Zoologischer Garten Magdeburg 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
16 Zoo Atlanta 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Zoo de la Bourbansais 🇫🇷 France In captivity
18 Faunia 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
19 Bird Park Steinen 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
20 Palmitos Park 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
21 Cim d'Àligues 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
22 St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
23 Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
24 Adventure Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
25 Gauntlet Birds of Prey 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
26 Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
27 Suffolk Owl Sanctuary 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
28 Zoo de Lourosa 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
29 Tiergarten Teltow 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
30 Walton Hall Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
31 Blue Planet Aquarium 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
32 Erlebniswelt Tier und Natur 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
33 Downtown Aquarium, Houston 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
34 Carolina Raptor Center 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Lake District Coast Aquarium 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
36 Reptiland 🇫🇷 France In captivity
37 Donjon des aigles 🇫🇷 France In captivity
38 Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
39 Mořský svět 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
40 Philadelphia Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
41 Sea Life Aquarium Kansas City 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
42 Singapore Miniature Zoo 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Hooded Vulture in Ouagadougou?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Vulture sighting in Ouagadougou on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 86 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Hooded Vulture in Ouagadougou?

December

In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Vulture in Ouagadougou on a given day, against about 30% in April and September, the lowest months. That is one of Ouagadougou's driest months, with almost no rain against 250 mm in August. February, August and November have too few records to rate.

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 Ouagadougou the best place to see a Hooded Vulture?

3rd of 9

Of the 9 cities where we can rate Hooded Vulture sightings, Ouagadougou ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Serrekunda (Gambia, about 90%) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, about 70%).

Which relatives of the Hooded Vulture live in Ouagadougou?

Same family: Accipitridae

The closest relatives of the Hooded Vulture that you can see in Ouagadougou (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Black Kite (about 60%) and Gabar Goshawk (about 30%), 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 Ouagadougou (36 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.

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