assessment of population status and diurnal behaviour of white-rumped vulture (gyps bengalensis) in ghachowk, kaski, nepal

Vulture safe feeding sites (vsfs) provide diclofenac-free food and create an ideal environment for long-term ecological research on vultures. this study determines the population status and investigates the diurnal behavior of white-rumped vulture (gyps bengalensis) at the ghachowk vsfs in kaski, nepal. we deployed the absolute count method to determine population of white- rumped vulture (gyps bengalensis), while scan sampling was applied to investigate their diurnal behaviour. throughout the daytime, a total of 1651 instances of 11 distinct activities were recorded for the species in 729 separate observations. the most frequent daytime behaviour observed was perching (28%) followed by preening (14%), basking (13%), scratching (13%) flapping (10%), flying (9%) and disturbance (7%). other behaviors, like feeding, sleeping (roosting), fighting (competition), and bathing, were observed less frequently (<2% each). perching occurred most frequently during heavy rain, accounting for 66% of the observations, and in the late afternoon, representing 36% of the instances. basking was most commonly observed during partly sunny conditions, comprising 26% of the observations, and in the noon hours, representing 20% of the instances. scratching behavior was most frequently observed during clear weather, accounting for 16% of the observations, and during cloudy conditions and in the morning, accounting for 14% of the instances. in the ghachowk vsfs, other associated species with white-rumped vulture were red-headed vulture sarcogyps calvus, egyptian vulture neophron percnopterus, and slender-billed vulture gyps tenuirostris.