Lappet-faced vulture  (Torgos tracheliotos)

Distributed across the Middle East and Africa, where the bird is found from the southern Sahara to the Sahel (9), down through east Africa to central and northern South Africa. In Africa, this vulture breeds in Egypt, possibly Libya, Senegal, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa (2). Breeding populations have been extinct in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia since the 1930s (2), and it may also no longer breed in Swaziland (10). In the Middle East, the bird breeds in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen (2). The species no longer breeds in Israel, but it is known to sometimes travel up to 150 kilometres away from the breeding area to forage, and thus individuals that are thought to breed in Saudi Arabia can be found in Israel (2) (9).

Over much of its range, the lappet-faced vulture inhabits dry savannah, semi-arid or desert areas with only scattered trees, thorn bushes and short grass, as well as open mountain slopes up to 4,500 metres above sea level (2) (9). Although open habitat is ideal for foraging, trees are also of critical importance, because they are used for roosting and nesting, with thorny species of Acacia, Balanites and Terminalia preferred (9).