Breeding biology and seasonal abundance of Lappet‐faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus in western Saudi Arabia

Lappet‐faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus utilizing a 2200‐km2, fenced, protected area in western Saudi Arabia were studied over 4 years. Numbers fluctuated seasonally from minima of c. 30 individuals in the spring to maxima of 160 birds in the autumn. All birds foraged predominantly on domestic livestock carrion outside the Reserve. In each year, up to 17 pairs attempted to breed, with 81% of pairs laying eggs, typically in large Maerua crassifolia trees. In all, 81% of the eggs hatched and 85% of nestlings fledged. Most eggs were laid in December, when mean daily air temperatures were lowest, and young usually fledged c. 180 days later. Overall, 56% of nesting attempts fledged young. Juvenile mortality over the first 3 months after fledging was at least 17%. The numbers and proportion of breeders appeared to be stable, but it is not known whether the establishment of the Reserve concentrated the nesting and roosting of vultures in the area or has attracted birds from elsewhere. Breeding success was higher than in most well‐studied African populations and probably those nesting elsewhere in Arabia. Four pairs reared 52% of the fledglings observed in the Reserve over 4 years. The Saudi Arabian Lappet‐faced Vultures probably belong to the subspecies negevensis and, because of the extinction of this subspecies in the wild in Israel, the well‐being of the Saudi Arabian population is critical to the subspecies' conservation.