Gypohierax

Information about Gypohierax

Palm-nut Vulture

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	*Gypohierax* Rüppell, 1836
Species:	*G. angolensis*

Binomial name

Gypohierax angolensis
(Gmelin, 1788)

The Palm-nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) is a very large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. It is the only member of the genus Gypohierax.

This bird is an Old World vulture, and is not related to the New World vultures which are in a separate family, Cathartidae.

It breeds in forest and savannah across sub-Saharan Africa, usually near water, its range coinciding with that of the Oil Palm. 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 like The Gambia.

This is an unmistakable bird as an adult. Its plumage is all white except for black areas in its wings. It has a red patch around the eye. The immature, which takes 5 years to mature, is brown with a yellow eye patch. In flight this species resembles an eagle more than a typical vulture, and it can sustain flapping flight, so it does not depend on thermals.

This vulture gets its name from its favourite food, which, uniquely for a bird of prey, is not meat, but the nut of the Oil Palm. It will also take dead fish.

Birds may form loose colonies. A single egg is incubated in a bulky stick nest in a tree for about six weeks.

References

BirdLife International (2004). Gypohierax angolensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Falconiformes
Sharpe, 1874

Families

Accipitridae
Pandionidae
Falconidae
Sagittariidae

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey.
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Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816

Subfamilies

Accipitrinae
Aegypiinae
Buteoninae
Circaetinae
Circinae
Elaninae
Milvinae
Perninae

but see text

The Accipitridae
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Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell (November 20, 1794 - December 10, 1884) was a German naturalist and explorer. Rüppell is occasionally transliterated to "Rueppell" for the English alphabet.

Rüppell was born at Frankfurt-on-Main, the son of a very prosperous banker.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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J. F. Gmelin

Johann Friedrich Gmelin (1748 - 1804)
Born July 8 1748
Germany
Died November 1 1804 (aged 56)
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Accipitriformes

Pandionidae
Accipitridae
Sagittariidae
Falconiformes
Falconidae

A
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Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816

Subfamilies

Accipitrinae
Aegypiinae
Buteoninae
Circaetinae
Circinae
Elaninae
Milvinae
Perninae

but see text

The Accipitridae
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Accipitriformes

Pandionidae
Accipitridae
Sagittariidae
Falconiformes
Falconidae

A
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Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. In general they feed on carrion but may also take live prey.

They are birds of prey which along with hawks, eagles, Old World vultures and many others are in the family Accipitridae.
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buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.

In the Old World

Buzzard can mean:

One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings.

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Circinae

Genera

Circus
Geranospiza
Polyboroides

A Harrier is any of several species of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds (hence their common name).
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genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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Aegypiinae

Genera

See text.

Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.
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Cathartidae
Lafresnaye, 1839

Genera

Coragyps
Cathartes
Gymnogyps
Vultur
Sarcoramphus

The New World vultures family Cathartidae
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
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Motto
"Progress, Peace, Prosperity"
Anthem
For The Gambia Our Homeland

Capital Banjul

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Elaeis
Jacq.

Species

Elaeis guineensis
Elaeis oleifera

The oil palms (Elaeis) comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil.
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IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
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IUCN

International Organization
Founded October 1948, Fontainebleau, France
Headquarters Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland

Key people Mr Valli Moosa
Ms Julia Marton-Lefèvre
Industry Natural resource conservation
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