Breeding site records of three sympatric vultures in a mountainous cliff in Kahara-Thathri, Jammu & Kashmir, India

The current communication deals with the breeding records of three sympatric vultures, viz., Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, and Bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus from a mountain cliff in Kahara, Thathri, a part of upper Chenab catchment in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Made of twigs and lined by dry grass, the nests mostly east-facing, were built on the ledges or in cavities and small caves on cliffs well protected from predators. The inaccessibility, rugged topography (for nesting) and the abundant food base (gorals, monkeys, langurs, pikas, and rodents) make it an ideal nesting location for the vultures. Authors suggested that intensive studies are required to be taken up on the resource apportionment and influence of habitat variables (climate, terrain, disturbance) on the nest site characteristics in such rugged landscapes.

[Prima nidificazione con successo di Gipeto (Gypaetus barbatus) in Piemonte dall’inizio del progetto di reintroduzione della specie sulle Alpi]

[Nel 2019 sulle Alpi sono stati accertati 57 territori di Gipeto (Gypaetus barbatus), di cui 15 in Italia: 9 nel Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio ed in Valle Venosta, 5 in Valle d’Aosta e nel Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso e 1 in Provincia di Torino nelle Valli di Lanzo. In quest’ultimo territorio, la coppia locale si è riprodotta con successo, portando all’involo un giovane in data 18 agosto 2019. Quest’evento rappresenta la prima riproduzione con successo in Piemonte dall’inizio del progetto internazionale di reintroduzione, intrapreso nel 1976 e dai primi rilasci di animali nati in cattività a partire dal 1986]. [Article in Italian]

The Status of Vultures Neophron Percnopterus, Gypaetus Barbatus, Gyps Fulvus, Aegypius Monachus (Accipitriformes) in Azerbaijan

The inventory of vultures was conducted in 2004–2016. Modern areal and nesting places of Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), Black vulture (Aegypius monachus), Egyptian vulture, (Neophron percnopterus) and Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in Azerbaijan was determined. Our results reveals that 60.6% (n=20) of nesting locations were found in Lesser Caucasus, 36.3% (n=12) in Great Caucasus, 3.0% (n=1) in Talysh mountains. Over the last 13 years the total known population of these species decreased by 15.3%. Primary reason of this decline is the abandonment of livestock farms and graze lands, accompanied by the expansion of cultivated areas (P = 0.0001) since large domestic ruminants are important source of food for Griffon vultures,. The other important threats to these species were identified as nestling removal, capture and trade of wild birds for exhibiting them in zoological gardens and roadside restaurants, destructing the nests of Black vultures, ecotourism and recreation has impacted on the decrease in the number of Griffon vultures (P =0.0001). In 2016, 61 pairs of Griffon vulture, 59 pairs of Egyptian vulture, 16 pairs of Black vulture, 9 pairs of Bearded vulture were recorded in the territories of Azerbaijan.