King Vultures on show at Bird Park

DON’T miss the King Vulture exhibit currently on show at Umgeni River Bird Park.

The beautiful South American Vultures are one of only three pairs on display in South Africa. The male has been a regular in the free-flight bird show for the last five years and the female is on loan from the Monte Casino Bird Gardens in Johannesburg.

They are easily identified at the moment as the female is fully coloured while the male is still attaining his adult plumage. When young, King Vultures are very drab to look at, being mostly black in colour. At around two years of age their appearance starts to change and the black feathers are replaced over most of the body with white and the head and neck start to colour up with a mixture of red, orange, yellow and black. Although they are one of the most colourful vultures in the world, little is known about their habits in the wild as they live in the canopy of the forest and fly high above the forest on the lookout for carcasses to feed on.

They breed well in captivity and the Umgeni River Bird Park is hoping that in the next few years the pair will breed.

The vultures are on display near the entrance to the Bird Park.