Breeding performance and population trend of the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus in Bulgaria: conservation implications

Abstract

The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) has been classified as ‘Endangered’ due to rapid population declines across its range. Thus, exhaustive studies on its demography may serve as an important stepping stones for successful conservation programs. Breeding performance is one of the main components of the demography of a raptor population. Evaluating reproductive rates is easier than other demographic parameters, while remaining a very useful metric to identify factors driving raptor population trends. Here we present the breeding performance of the species’ population in Bulgaria as a result of a long-term monitoring (2005–2016). The studied population shows high breeding performance, based on a breeding success (1.11 ± 0.13 fledglings / laying pairs), productivity (0.88 ± 0.1 fledglings / occupied territories) and fledgling success (1.2 ± 0.1 fledglings / successful pairs), all among the highest recorded in Europe. Pairs breeding in territories with high occupancy rate produced 88% of the fledglings.