Gypohierax angolensis
Silhouette: Kai Caspar · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% 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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Palmnut Vulture sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 244th most-seen of the 380 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Palmnut Vulture in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–July and September–November, the lowest months.
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.
18th of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Palmnut Vulture sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 18th at under 5%. The best odds are in Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 70%), Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 60%) and Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Palmnut Vulture that you can see in Tsavo West National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Eastern Chanting-Goshawk (about 50%), Bateleur (about 40%) and Tawny Eagle (about 30%), 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 Tsavo West National Park (33 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.
