The Bearded Vulture Monday 13th August 2012
August 13, 2012 in Wildlife Village by Susan M
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Good Morning Villagers
Being as our Empty Nest Syndrome is really starting to kick in I thought I would tell you about this………………
This raptor was mentioned on the last post I done, and thought it had a WOW factor, so this is just a brief introduction to it
Bearded Vulture
Bonecrusher of legends and fables
BEARDED VULTURE
Scientific Name: Gypaetus barbatus
Habitat: High mountains and open ranges.
Location: Mountainous regions of Africa, Southern Europe and Asia.
Population: (Alpine:) Approximately 100 breeding pairs exist in Europe today, mostly in the Pyrenees between France and Spain; on the Island of Corsica, on the Greek island of Crete and mainland Greece. It has also been reintroduced in the European Alps. Background The bearded vulture is the Alps largest bird and one of the rarest raptors in Europe. It nests on high rock ledges and inhabits exclusively high mountainous areas (1,600-13,000 feet). It can be found usually above the tree line, in rugged areas with steep slopes and in alpine pastures Bearded Vultures were once found in almost all mountain ranges of southern Europe and in the Alps.Probably no other raptor has made such a deep impression on people, as is shown by the numerous fables and legends concerning it. Physical Description Size The Bearded vulture reaches 45 inches in size (from head to tail), its wingspan is almost 90 inches and it weighs about 11-15 pounds.Color
Bearded vultures have reddish yellow or white plumage on the head and breast with a grey black tail and wings. In the adult individual the black strip over the eyes and the bristles at the base of the beak form the distinctive appearance of a beard. The white color of the neck and under parts of captive birds as opposed to the reddish plumage of wild ones remained unexplained for many years, until it was discovered that wild birds deliberately put iron oxide on their plumage. When captive birds were provided with iron-rich water they started to bathe in it as they do in the wild and plumage went reddish again! Habitat Major habitat type
High mountains and open ranges Range States (Alpine) France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, German Geographical Location Mountainous regions of Africa, Southern Europe and Asia Ecological Region European Alps, Mediterranean Interesting Facts
The name of the Lammergeier originates from German, in which language it means “lamb-vulture.” This raptor will often drop bones from a great height in order to crack them open and gain access the bone marrow inside – hence its old name of Ossifrage (or Bone Crusher). Like most vultures, they eat mostly carrion which they locate by sight while soaring high in the air. Amazingly, a bearded vulture has been reported at an elevation of 24,000 feet! Click on the link to watch
BBC Nature – Lammergeier videos, news and factsLammergeiers are long-winged vultures known for their unusual habit of dropping bones on to rocks to smash them open and get at the marrow. They have a widespread distribution in the mountains of Europe, Asia and Africa, and are common in the mountainous highlands of Ethiopia.
via Bbc
INFORMATION FROM WWF and Video © BBC NATURE WILDLIFE
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The Dyfi Osprey Project and the Scottish wildlife Trust have kindly given their permission for us to post still and video images from their webcams. To visit their sites please click on the relevant link. Loch of the Lowes. Dyfi Osprey Project.
