Two records of Himalayan Vulture <i>Gyps himalayensis</i> in central Uzbekistan.

Abstract

We report two observations of Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis from central Uzbekistan. The first of these observations was a juvenile bird seen on March 17th 2015 over semi-desert steppe habitat in the southern Kyzylkum desert, central Navoi province. The second observation was an adult bird seen on September 24th 2017 in the Aktau ridge of the Nuratau mountain range, far-western Samarkand province, at an altitude of 1400 m. Both these observations were made in areas where Himalayan Vulture is not indicated to occur by existing range maps. While it is uncertain whether our observations indicate the presence of a permanent population of Himalayan Vulture in the mountains of central Uzbekistan, or whether the individuals we recorded represent birds which have widely dispersed from their breeding grounds, we nevertheless highlight that this near-threatened species occurs more extensively within Uzbekistan than previously reported.