Bearded vulture
| Lammergeier | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Gypaetus barbatus |
The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus is an Old World vulture. It breeds on crags in high mountains in southern Europe, Africa, India and Tibet, laying one or two eggs. The population is resident. Lammergeier have been re-introduced successfully into the Alps
Like other vultures it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. It will drop bones from a height to crack them to get at the bone marrow. Its old name of Ossifrage relates to this habit. Live tortoises are also dropped in similar fashion to crack them open.
Unlike most vultures, Lammergeiers do not have a bald head. This huge bird has a 2.5m wingspan, and is quite unlike most other vultures in flight due to its long narrow wings and wedge shaped tail.
Description
Adults have a buff-yellow body and head, the latter with the black moustaches which give this species its alternative name. Tail and wings are grey. Juvenile birds are dark all over, and take 5 years to reach full maturity. Lammergeiers are silent apart from shrill whistles at the breeding crags. They have a length of 37-41 inches (95-105 cm), with a wingspan of 98-110 inches (250-280 cm), they weigh between 5000 and 7000 grams (11-15 pound). They can live up to 40 years in captivity.
Their habitat is spread over Southern Europe, Africa, the Middle-east, India and Tibet, inhabiting exclusively mountainous terrain (between 500 and 4,000 meters, 1,300-13,100 feet). They bread from mid december to mid februari, laying 1 to 2 eggs, which hatch between 53 and 58 days. After which the young spend 106 to 130 days in the nest, before flying out on their own.
Etymology
The name of the Lammergeier originates from German Lämmergeier, in which language it means "lamb-vulture".
Miscellaneous
According to legend, the Greek playwright Aeschylus was killed by a tortoise dropped on his bald head by a Lammergeier who mistook it for a stone.