Bearded Vulture Research Paper

The Bearded Vulture is the largest bird in the Alps. It gets its name from the hair that protrudes from under the eyes down to the bill, making a beard. It is also one of the rarest birds of prey in Europe. The bird used to be named/called Ossifrage, which is Latin, which means “bone-eater”. Another common name is Lammergeyer. Its scientific name is Gypaetus Barbatus. The Bearded Vulture species is near threatened due to its population declining.
The Bearded Vulture is monogamous. It first starts breeding when 6-8 years old. They breed once a year. The female lays two eggs, one is in case the other doesn’t hatch. They are incubated for 53-60 days before they hatch. The second egg is smaller than the first egg. The second born is killed by the older sibling. A healthy Bearded Vulture can live up to 45 years in captivity. Although, in the wild the average is less than half of that, at 21.4 years. Females are always larger than males. The Bearded Vulture weighs 9.9-17.2 pounds. The wingspan is 98.4-112.2 inches. It can grow to around 4 feet tall. Wild Bearded Vultures rub soil into their feathers to look more frightening. …show more content…
It is a scavenger. It lives in high mountainous regions, and travels to lowlands to feed. Its diet consists of 70-90% of bone marrow. It also eats carrion, which is the flesh of dead animals, and turtles. It drops larger bones from above onto rocks below to break the bones open, making the marrow inside accessible. The smaller bones from carcasses are swallowed whole due to the high acidity in the stomach. It is legend that a Bearded Vulture dropped a turtle onto the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus which instantly killed him. It is now thought that a Bearded Vulture misinterpreted his head for a