Home › All birds › Lappet-faced vulture

The Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) is a bird found in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Oman, and 2 more countries. Dry savanna and desert in Africa and the Middle East. It eats dead animals (carrion) and small animals. The IUCN Red List lists it as Endangered.

🏡 Where the Lappet-faced vulture lives

Dry savanna and desert in Africa and the Middle East.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🦴 Leftovers (carrion)90%
• 🐾 Small animals10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Questions about the Lappet-faced vulture

Where does the Lappet-faced vulture live?

The Lappet-faced vulture lives in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Oman, and 2 more countries. Dry savanna and desert in Africa and the Middle East.

What does the Lappet-faced vulture eat?

dead animals (carrion) (about 90%), small animals (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Lappet-faced vulture endangered?

Very few are left in the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Endangered.

More birds from Africa

• Ascension frigatebird
• Bronze mannikin
• African paradise flycatcher
• Lesser striped swallow
• Black-headed oriole
• Emerald-spotted wood dove

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.