The Egyptian Vulture is among the most emblematic of the Old-world vultures, a long-distance migrant in some areas, and famous through different legends and its habit of using stones to break Ostrich eggs. Yet it is classed as "Endangered" by the IUCN due to a recent and extremely rapid population decline in most of its range. Furthermore, this magnificent scavenger faces various large-scale anthropogenic threats such as non-intentional poisoning, hazardous energy infrastructure, and direct persecution. There have been intensive research and conservation efforts in some countries, and therefore there is an urgent need for better international networking and exchange of experience to improve its status globally.

The Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project is organizing a Global Online Conference on 8 - 9 November 2022. This event will go far beyond the project's scope and aims at creating an international platform for the exchange of recent information, knowledge and state-of-art skills in Egyptian Vulture population monitoring, mitigation of threats, research methods and best practices in community activities.

We have sessions on the status of the species across its range, innovative research methods, current threats and proven mitigation. We also have breakout round table sessions on specific flyways, emerging threats and practical solutions. The full programme can be found here (LINK to follow when we have it as a pdf).

Proceedings will be published in Vulture News, while selected good-quality papers may be included in special issues of the Journal of Raptor Research or Acta Zoologica Bulgarica.

Source: Facebook page of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, the Caucasus & Central Asia, and the Conference website