African White-backed Vultures and Marabou Storks, near Vitshumbi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The White-backed Vulture, Gyps africanus, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. Sometimes it is called African White-backed Vulture to distinguish it from the Oriental White-backed Vulture - nowadays usually called Indian White-rumped Vulture - to which it was formerly believed to be closely related. The White-backed Vulture is a typical vulture, with only down feathers on the head and neck, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff. The adult's whitish back contrasts with the otherwise dark plumage. Juveniles are largely dark. This is a medium-sized vulture. Like other vultures it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of animals which it finds by soaring over savannah and around human habitation. It often moves in flocks. It breeds in trees on the savannah of west and east Africa, laying one egg. The population is mostly resident. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignement for National Geographic Film and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.