Vultures are popularly portrayed as gruesome scavengers, an injustice even more pertinent for the fruit-eating palm-nut vulture. With its extensive white plumage, and black wing and tail feathers, the adult palm-nut vulture can be crudely mistaken for both the African fish eagle and the Egyptian vulture, but clearly lacks the chestnut body of the former and the white tail of the latter. While the head, throat and neck is well feathered, reddish bare skin, conspicuous around the face and eyes, is distinctly vulturine. The sexes are almost identical in appearance, with the female being only slightly larger than the male. Juveniles on the other hand are predominately brown with partially black wings and take a lengthy three to four years to make the transition into the adult plumage.