Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos)
Also known as: Nubian vulture
Previously known as: Torgos tracheliotus

As the largest vulture in Africa, the lappet-faced vulture dominates other vultures when feeding, and is even powerful enough to fend off a jackal ! This impressive species is armed with a large and powerful beak, capable of tearing off the hides, tendons and other coarse tissue of its scavenged prey that are too tough for smaller scavengers. This enormous, broad-winged bird is easily recognised by its conspicuous size, bare, pink-skinned head and distinctive fleshy folds of skin, known as lappets, on the sides of its neck, for which it earns its common name. The feathers are mostly dark brown to black, which contrast starkly with the white thighs and white bar running across the leading edge of the underwing, clearly visible when in flight. Arabian populations are altogether browner, including partially-brown thighs, with only some individuals showing white on the underwing, and those individuals formerly found in Israel also had pure white feathers on their backs. Thus, this group has been classified as a distinct subspecies, T. t. negevensis. The lappet-faced vulture can also be identified by the various hisses and cackles it gives while at the nest, near food, or in aggressive confrontations.