Spatial Characteristics of Nest Sites of Critically Endangered Indian Vultures (Gyps indicus) in Rajasthan, India

Vultures in India have experienced catastrophic declines over the past fifteen years. The cause of declines is well studied, but fundamental knowledge of vulture ecology within the context of India's human-dominated landscape is lacking. Here we report on landscape-level habitat associations of 54 nests of Indian vultures (Gyps indicus) across Rajasthan, India. Our data show that on average, vulture nests were 4.4 km from a water source (range: 0 -25km) and 1.3 km from human settlement (range: 0 -11km). The majority of Indian vulture nest sites we observed were in trees, an apparently atypical nest substrate for this species. Drivers of Indian vulture nest site selection are currently unknown yet understanding them is likely key for the success of vulture conservation, particularly the reintroduction of captive bred populations. This study provides the first observational data on Indian vulture nest sites from which causal hypotheses can be generated and tested.