English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

African White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus, like many bird species (Cockburn 2006), are monogamous and exhibit bi-parental care, where both birds share the incubation and feeding responsibility equally (Mundy et al. 1992). This is a common breeding strategy in birds because it enables one parent to incubate an egg whilst the other parent can forage, ensuring the egg is always attended and less vulnerable to predation (Cockburn 2006). Bi-parental breeding is an effective reproductive strategy for White-backed Vultures because they exhibit a lengthy breeding period, incubating one egg for 56 days, before rearing a chick for 120-125 days (Mundy et al. 1992). After this, the fledgling will still be partially dependent on its parents for up to a further 5-6 months, in total, equating to nearly one year of incubation and feeding responsibility (Mundy et al. 1992). This level of breeding effort, whilst challenging for a pair of birds, would be almost impossible for a single bird. The extended absences required to forage efficiently would leave the nest unattended and the egg vulnerable to predation. Despite the difficulty inherent in a single bird attending the nest, here I present evidence of unusually long nest attendances and a solo egg incubation attempt by a White-backed Vulture.

Exceptional nest attendance and solo breeding attempt by an African White-backed Vulture.