Torgos tracheliotos (Forster, 1791).

Length 100-115 cm. This is a very large vulture with a wingspan of nearly three meters. The adult is brown with a naked pink head and a heavy, dark horn-colored bill. The color of the head and the exposure of the lappets are partly dependent on the mood and temperature. A distinct whitish bar at the base of the forewing is visible in flight. The juvenile has a greyish head. The Lappet-faced Vulture lives in steppe and semi-desert areas with isolated acacia trees on which to nest. It is mainly a scavenger, feeding on carrion, skin, and bone fragments. It is credited with killing small mammals but may pirate them from other raptors. Like other vultures, it soars very high in search of dead animals and can sense the presence of carrion from far away; it often travels long distances on foraging trips. The huge nest platform can take up the whole top of a tree and is built of sticks lined with grass. The female lays a single egg and the young fledge in 125-135 days. This species is globally vulnerable and has disappeared from much of its former range. It is a rare resident breeder in the southern part of the Eastern Desert, but may occasionally wander north as far as Sinai.