First identification of the migration routes and wintering sites of Egyptian Vultures breeding in Uzbekistan

Abstract

The aim of this project is to identify for the first time the migration routes and wintering sites of Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus  breeding in central Asia. Four juvenile Egyptian Vultures from Uzbekistan were tagged in their nests with GPS transmitters  between 26th July 2021 – 6 th August 2021. Three of the tags successfully transmitted data and three birds started to migrate from  Uzbekistan between 5-15th September 2021. Each bird took a different route with two migrating via Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and  Pakistan and ultimately wintering in India (Rajasthan and Haryana). The third bird took a longer journey with several stops through  Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and finally arriving in Yemen in late November 2021. All individuals remained in their  wintering countries during the first spring, but by the time the birds were one year old only one individual made a return migration from  India to the Tian Shan mountains on the border of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the summer of 2022. During the migration, we identified  (using satellite photos and ground visits by local collaborators) frequent use of refuse dumps and slaughter sites by the Egyptian Vultures  in each country. Notably, Balkan and Central Asian Egyptian Vultures are connected via their overlapping wintering locations in  the Middle East.