• There’s good news for city dwellers. A flock of 10 Egyptian vultures— which are rarely spotted in the city— has been living on land near the Yamuna since January.
• According to experts, Egyptian vultures have nearly disappeared from the city in the last few years.
• Their nesting areas would include areas near the Yamuna, Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Ghazipur landfill.

Point to remember:

• The vulture is a useful scavenger as it feeds on carrion and keeps the environment clean.
• It also controls the spread of diseases from decaying carrions.
• The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), one among nine vulture species available in the Indian sub-continent, is a large-range distributed species in Europe, Africa and Asia, but its population has rapidly declined in India due to factors such as disturbance, poisoning, electrocution, scarcity of food and habitat loss, but largely due to the toxic effect of veterinary drug Diclofenac through livestock carcasses.

Source: The Hindu