Palm-nut Vulture: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Palm-nut Vulture is exactly what the name says. It is, oddly enough, a vulture that feeds primarily on palm nuts…both Oil and Raffia, and its range in sub-Sahara Africa closely matches the range of those trees. It does occasionally feed on fish (crabs, reptile eggs, smaller reptiles, etc.) and it is listed in the field guides as a “fish-eating raptor,” and is most often seen near water. The black and white adults, with their huge yellow beak and red eye-patch, are unmistakable. The immatures are plain brown, developing more white plumage as they age, but they have the bare patch around the eye and, of course, that big beak.

Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Adult: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th. Immatures: ISO 100 @ f4 and 6.3 @ 1/1000th.