It breeds in forest and savannah across sub-Saharan Africa, usually near water, its range coinciding with that of the oil and Raffia palms.

It is quite approachable, like many African vultures, and can be seen near habitation, even on large hotel lawns in the tourist areas of countries such as the Gambia.

The palm-nut vulture was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[2] Gmelin based his description on the "Angola vulture" that had been described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds.

Juveniles on the other hand are predominately brown with partially black wings and take a lengthy three to four years to make the transition into the adult plumage.

The only Southern African subregions to have resident breeding pairs of palm-nut vultures are South Africa and Mozambique.

The breeding distribution of the palm-nut vulture during the 1970s census period was centred on the Raffia palm groves of the Kosi Bay system and Mtunzini.

As the name suggests, the distribution of the palm-nut vulture closely tracks that of oil (Elaeis guineensis) or raffia (Raphia sp.)

[10] It has also been recorded to feed on crabs (both freshwater and marine), molluscs, frogs, tadpoles, fish, dung beetles, termites, alate ants, alate termites, locusts, small mammals, birds and their nestlings, snakes, other reptiles, even reptiles’ eggs and hatchlings, and it has been known to occasionally attack domestic poultry and feed on carrion.

At the beginning of the breeding season, pairs soar together in an aerial display of rolling and diving, much more acrobatic than most vultures.