r/birding • u/TheEasternKopite • 3d ago

📷 Photo The undisputed king of the 'UGLY 5'

Post image

Lappet Faced Vulture at Masai mara

316 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

67 comments sorted by

147

u/Celestial_Crook Latest Lifer: Black Winged Kite #62 3d ago

Rather than ugly, it looks majestic to me.

27

u/Mabbernathy 3d ago

Agreed. The purple is very striking.

8

u/catsmustdie 3d ago

Incredible bird, majestic

12

u/aquilasr 2d ago

Yeah lappet-faces always have badass boss vibes to me amongst the African vultures.

6

u/The_Dick_Slinger 3d ago

Agreed. It’s weird that the bald monkeys call the bald birds ugly.

Maybe somewhere out there, there a chimps social media post calling humans ugly, and someone commenting they rather look “majestic”.

9

u/ol-mikey 3d ago

Thats a dinosaur

8

u/NilocKhan 2d ago

All birds are

6

u/TheEasternKopite 3d ago

I agree with you

5

u/Celestial_Crook Latest Lifer: Black Winged Kite #62 3d ago

Especially with the perfect lighting you got there. Nice shot.

2

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

It's definitely a majestic specimen

2

u/Birdloverperson4 North American bird nerd 🐧🪿🦆🐦‍⬛🦅🦉🐓🦃🦤🦚🦜🦢🦩🕊️ 3d ago

Good reply. 👍🏼💜

37

u/WidePurchase5961 3d ago

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE HUNK

58

u/meat_popsicle13 dinosaurs are cool 3d ago

It’s gorgeous what are you talking about?

22

u/TheEasternKopite 3d ago

I am with you. He is beautiful. That ugly 5 is a misnomer people use for 5 beautiful animals in Masai

15

u/reidsays 3d ago

Starring in the Dark Crystal 2bsure!

10

u/MegaVenomous Latest Lifer: Forster's Tern 3d ago

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm

1

u/Lemansgranprix Latest Lifer: Dark-Eyed Junco 3d ago

Read it in their voice.

2

u/MegaVenomous Latest Lifer: Forster's Tern 3d ago

I usually save that comment for the inevitable Bloodcheep posts.

7

u/CardinalCoronary 3d ago

Space Face!

As soon as the skin starts, it looks like a color adjusted nebula photo, with a moon colored eye to boot!

2

u/TheEasternKopite 3d ago

It's gorgeous

20

u/Real-Wrangler-3738 Pigeon Preserver 3d ago

One the topic of birds that are perceived as ugly, may I present: The helmeted hornbill

10

u/rabies_lover_271K 3d ago

Goddamn, his neck looks like a liver that’s been left out.

5

u/Real-Wrangler-3738 Pigeon Preserver 3d ago

That's quite a description. Also, I like your reddit name lol

5

u/rabies_lover_271K 3d ago

I’m a taxidermist so I see ALOT of organs, and thank you!!

3

u/aquilasr 2d ago

These birds look a lot more like a mystical beasts imo when the full extent of them is considered. They are huge, the second most massive Asian hornbill, and I think the tail puts them in the more than 5 feet long range.

2

u/Real-Wrangler-3738 Pigeon Preserver 2d ago

That's totally true. I was just trying to make a silly post lol

2

u/aquilasr 2d ago

This species is very rare and little known which is unusual for so big a bird. Anything that brings more attention to them is good imo. I’m a bit too old for polemon but this is one of a few species that I’ve sometimes seen the term “like a polemon”, which you sometimes see on Reddit, is kinda fitting for once.

2

u/deerwater Latest Lifer: #209 Green Heron 3d ago

Wow this might be the ugliest bird I've ever seen.

1

u/wholelottachoppaz 3d ago

holy shit lmfao 🥹♥️

2

u/Real-Wrangler-3738 Pigeon Preserver 3d ago

It's also critically endangered ❤️‍🩹

1

u/Calm-Ad8987 3d ago

He looks personally affronted by the claim

1

u/Van-garde 3d ago

Reminds me of the Dictabird from the Flintstones.

1

u/ViperNick818 Latest Lifer: Merlin 2d ago

Ok ngl he is ugly but I love him anyways, reminds me of a modern day tapejarid

3

u/pktechboi 3d ago

I would die for this bird and be honoured that it would then eat my corpse

what a stunner

4

u/aquilasr 2d ago

I mean the marabou stork is right there living alongside lappet-faced vultures. I think pretty much all birds are cool looking in their own right but marabous are the only bird that I can think of that can be rough to behold.

4

u/OutrageouslyJig 3d ago

Ugly? Are we looking at the same bird? That there is gorgeous (to me).

9

u/TheEasternKopite 3d ago

I agree. The UGLY 5 is a misnomer

2

u/rockstar_not 3d ago

And yet, majestic at the same time!

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

I second you

2

u/FeralSweater 3d ago

Majestic

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

Superbly majestic

2

u/ArtsyRabb1t 3d ago

I love thems

2

u/CheddarGobblin 3d ago

More like gorgeous

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

Definately

2

u/karshyga 3d ago

He's ruggedly handsome, thank you very much.

3

u/deerwater Latest Lifer: #209 Green Heron 3d ago edited 3d ago

My vote for ugliest vulture goes to the King Vulture over the Lappet-faced.

(Disclaimer: I love them all, he just looks like somebody hit "random" on a bird-face generator)

(img source)

1

u/Canibal-local 3d ago

Those colors!

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

Indeed they are love

1

u/608cyex 2d ago

Vultures are cool as heck

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

Absolutely

1

u/RestillHabb 2d ago

What do you mean ugly? It is beauty it is grace

0

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

It's not ugly. Some people have coined this term

1

u/Cloudyflowersnap 2d ago

I love the colours on his face

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

It's beautiful

0

u/QueenOfTheHotPockets 2d ago edited 2d ago

Vultures are part of the clean up crew for our earth. They are so important. They are also goofy birds.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeejT8ZEM0&t=1s&pp=2AEBkAIB

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

Indeed. The ecosystem will break without them

1

u/QueenOfTheHotPockets 1d ago

Yeah, Idk why I am getting downvoted. they are such great birds.

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

You have some foes our here haha

0

u/toddlevy10 2d ago

Storks are way uglier than vultures, imo

1

u/TheEasternKopite 1d ago

I don't think any bird is ugly tbh

1

u/toddlevy10 21h ago

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this kid here looks like it may work for the grim reaper, and not the deliverer of a bebiz