Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2026 | 18(7): 29360–29363

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9746.18.7.29360-29363

#9746 | Received 11 March 2025 | Final received 27 October 2026| Finally accepted 07 July 2026

 

 

Coprophagy in Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) at Jorbeer carcass dump, Rajasthan

 

Sachin Ranade 1  & Hemant Bajpai 2       

 

1 Vulture Conservation Breeding Center, Rani, Kamrup, Assam 781131, India.

2 Jatayu Conservation Breeding Center, Pinjore, Panchkula, Haryana 134102, India.

1 s.ranade@bnhs.org (corresponding author), 2 h.bajpai@bnhs.org

 

 

Editor: H. Byju, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.               Date of publication: 26 July 2026 (online & print)

 

Citation: Ranade, S. & H. Bajpai (2026). Coprophagy in Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) at Jorbeer carcass dump, Rajasthan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 18(7): 29360–29363. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9746.18.7.29360-29363

  

Copyright: © Ranade & Bajpai 2026. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: None.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the Bombay Natural History Society for encouragement and the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, UK for the funding for various studies and surveys. We thank to the Forest Department of Rajasthan for the kind permissions for monitoring the vulture population at the Jorbeer Carcass Dump.  

 

 

Coprophagy is a well-known phenomenon in the animal kingdom, where species consume faecal matter to obtain nutrients that might otherwise be difficult to digest or assimilate. It can be categorized into autocoprophagy, which is feeding on one’s own faeces and allocoprophagy, which is feeding on faeces of the conspecific or other species (Hirakawa 2001). Coprophagy benefits the feeding animal by providing partially digested food, including carotenoids and calcium, which otherwise take a longer time to collect, digest, and assimilate (Hirakawa 2001; Ranade & Prakash 2014). It rapidly matures the gut bacteria in Ostriches Struthio camelus that increase the growth rate and decrease mortality (Videvall et al. 2023).

Among vultures, a few coprophagous species are recorded from the Old World and the New World: Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachusfrom in the Old World; Black Vulture Coragyps atratus, Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura, and Andean Condor Vultur gryphus in the New World (Blanco et al 2013; Reading et al. 2017; González-Jáuregui et al. 2021; de Moura & de Moura 2023).

Egyptian Vultures (EV) are among the most widespread species in India (Botha et al. 2017). The species is a scavenger but is known to feed on insects, reptiles and birds as well (Hidalgo 2005; Vittorio et al. 2017; Byju & Raveendran 2022). The nutritional benefits of coprophagy include the ingestion of pre-digested nutrients, calcium, and carotenoids, which enhance the yellow pigmentation of their facial skin, a trait associated with mate selection and social hierarchy (Negro et al. 2002; Blanco et al. 2013). This study presents observations of coprophagy in EV at Jorbeer carcass dump, emphasizing its ecological relevance.

The Jorbeer carcass dump (27.9663o N, 73.3769o E) falls within the Jorbeer Conservation Area and is situated on the outskirts of Bikaner City in Rajasthan. The Jorbeer Conservation Reserve covers an area of 57 km2 with the carcass dump located on its edge spreading over 2.25 km2 (Image 1).  The reserve has a typical desert habitat with sand and scattered xerophytic vegetation, mainly consisting of Capparis decidua, Acacia nilotica, and Prosopis cineraria. It is an authorized municipal dump, and the cattle carcasses from all over the city of Bikaner are dumped here. The Municipality auctions the rights of carcass collection. The carcasses collected by the contractors are dumped here after skinning, the numbers varying 30–100 per day. The dump is frequented by four species of genus Gyps—Indian Vulture Gyps indicus, White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, and Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis. The other three species sighted are Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus, Egyptian Vulture, and Red-headed Vulture Aegypius calvus. Other facultative scavengers such as Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax, and Punjab Raven Corvus corax subcorax are also common. The stray dog Canis domesticus is the commonest mammalian species, followed by the Wild Boar Sus scrofa on the feeding ground.  

Despite being a carcass dump, Jorbeer functions as part of a dynamic grassland ecosystem. The conservation of this area provides a safe habitat for arid land flora and fauna. The abundant carrion supply sustains a large number of raptors, making Jorbeer a critical foraging ground for resident and migratory scavengers.

We have been studying the EV population and behaviour since 2002, and this note covers the data till 2018 (Table 1). The coprophagy was noted opportunistically and photographed in earlier visits (n = 8) in 2003–05 (Images 2–4). In the photographs, one can see the small flock of EV waiting and feeding immediately on the scat as the dog moves away. During an intensive study at Jorbeer (n = 30 visits) in 2017–18, 10 more incidences were recorded.  During all these observations (n = 18), the EV followed the dog, waited for it to excrete and immediately fed on it. On nine occasions, the EV were noted feeding on the dung of Cow Bos indicus (Table 1). The dung was from stray cows as well as from the stomach contents of the carcasses. During observations (n = 28), 36% of individuals were N. p. gingianus while 64% were N. p. percnopterus, as both subspecies are reported here. All of the sightings noted were in broad daylight. No agonistic response took place between the dogs and EV, nor did any other species compete in the coprophagy.

The EVs fulfil their requirement of carotenoids from the faeces of mammals (Negro et al. 2002). The carotenoids provide bright yellow colouration of bare skin on the face and legs in EV. Thus, coprophagy is beneficial for EV in partner selection and, ultimately, for the successful proliferation of the species. The high level of carotenoids in plasma correlated to a more colourful appearance and a higher position in the hierarchy in the Andean Condor as well (Blanco et al. 2013) and needs to be confirmed in EV as well. Whitehouse-Tedd et al. (2024) carried out a study on coprophagy by EV, recognizing the dangers of veterinary medicines in the dung, which may pose a future danger, and a similar study needs to be carried out in India to ensure safety in the local species, especially EV.

The EV is known to consume large crickets, termites, frogs, Checkered Keelback Xenochrophis piscator, and Ostrich eggs, as well as flamingos’ eggs and nestlings. In Israel and Europe, they are known to feed on lizards, skinks, snakes, and rabbits; in Africa, nestlings of pelicans and Rock dove (Hidalgo 2005; Naoroji 2006; Vittorio et al. 2017). The niche-scavenging as well as taking advantage of such a varied diet, must have made this small vulture successful in the competition for survival among the vultures. 

 

 

Table 1. Records of coprophagy by Egyptian Vulture (EV) at Jorbeer carcass dump.

 

Date

Time

Feeding on

Number of Egyptian Vulture

1

10.vii.2017

1615

Cow dung

1

2

25.vii.2017

1736

Cow dung

1

3

11.x.2017

1725

Cow dung

3

4

04.xii.2017

1613

Cow dung

2

5

21.i.2018

1115

Cow dung

1

6

29.i.2018

0820

Cow dung

1

1

25.vi.2003

1000

Fresh dog scat

3

2

07.i.2005

1200

Fresh dog scat

5

3

06.iv.2017

0810

Fresh dog scat

2

4

29.iv.2017

0904

Fresh dog scat

1

5

23.x.2017

0955

Fresh dog scat

2

6

20.xii.2017

1000

Fresh dog scat

1

7

13.i.2018

1008

Fresh dog scat

1

8

29.i.2018

1715

Fresh dog scat

1

9

02.iii.2018

1600

Fresh dog scat

1

10

05.iii.2018

0830

Fresh dog scat

1

 

 

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