Sarcogyps calvus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.
This is a species of Old World vulture, and the only member of the genus Sarcogyps. The generic name Sarcogyps is a combination of the Greek words sarx, meaning "flesh", and gups, meaning "vulture". The specific epithet calvus is Latin for "bald". The red-headed vulture is monotypic; it has no accepted subspecies.
This gaudy-faced vulture was historically abundant, range widely across the Indian subcontinent, and also eastwards to south-central and south-eastern Asia, extending from India to Singapore. Today the range of the red-headed vulture is localized primarily to northern India. It is usually in open country and in cultivated and semi-desert areas. It is also found in deciduous forests and foothills and river valleys. It is usually found up to an altitude of 3000m from sea level.
It is a medium-sized vulture of 76 to 86 cm (30 to 34 in) in length... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parco Natura Viva | 🇮🇹 Italy |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-headed Vulture sighting in Gir National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 103rd most-seen of the 135 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.
April, June, October and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-headed Vulture in Gir National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May, September and November, the lowest months. Those are among Gir National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against 330 mm in July. July and August have too few records to rate.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-headed Vulture sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
7th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Red-headed Vulture sightings, Gir National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Bandhavgarh National Park (India, about 20%), Bandipur National Park (India, about 20%) and Mudumalai National Park (India, about 20%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Red-headed Vulture that you can see in Gir National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Oriental Honey-buzzard (about 50%), White-eyed Buzzard (about 30%) and Crested Serpent Eagle (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-headed Vulture is recorded against all the birds logged in Gir National Park (15 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
