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General Information
General Information
Habitat
Habitat
They live at high elevations in mountainous regions, with rugged topography and rocky terrain (300-4500 meters above sea level).
Found throughout parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe:
The European Alps, Himalayas, Pyrenees, and Sierra Nevada
Bearded vultures are a near-threatened and decreasing species. Why are they decreasing?
Previously, in the 19th to 20th centuries, they were persecuted. People believed that these vultures would hunt down their sheep or even children.
As farming practices spread and wild mountain herbivore populations declined, they were nearly extinct in the European mountains.
Now, increased livestock production, reduced food availability, and commercial development are causing their decline.
(Tenenzapf, 2011)
Social Structure
Social Structure
Bearded vultures are solitary birds.
Typically forms strong, life-long pair bonds
In their dominance hierarchy, females are more dominant than males.
Females are larger than males on average
They are very territorial:
Uses aerial attacks to defend their nests from competitors
Bearded vultures have a life span of 20–22 years in the wild.
In captivity, they can live up to 45 years.
(Bertran and Margali, 2002; Tenenzapf, 2011; Orta et al., 2020)
Communicative Behavior
Communicative Behavior
Rarely vocal, except during mating and courtship displays
Shrill whistle and twittering
During courtship, they do mutual aerial circling and high-speed chases together (sky dances)
One form of communication may be through dyed feathers -->
(Tenenzapf, 2011; Orta et al., 2020)
Dyed Feathers
Dyed Feathers
Adult bearded vultures seek out puddles containing iron oxide to coat their feathers.
The reason for this is still unknown!
Some speculate that it's for health reasons or to illustrate their dominance–the darker the feathers, the more dominant.
(Tenenzapf, 2011)
Reproductive Behavior
Reproductive Behavior
They are late breeders compared to other vultures, breeding from October until July.
Begins building nests, on cliffs or caves, about 111 days before eggs are laid.
Lays 1-3 eggs, but usually only one survives. The other egg acts as a backup!
Chicks are altricial
Incubation lasts 54 days.
Mostly monogamous, but sometimes have polyandrous trios.
(Tenenzapf, 2011; Orta et al., 2020)
A video explaining trios further!
Polyandrous Trios
Polyandrous Trios
Sometimes exhibits polyandrous trios, in which one female mates with two males.
With the female, there's an alpha and a beta male.
Mating with two males could benefit the female by providing more parental care for the young.
(Bertran and Margali, 2002; Tenenzapf, 2011; Orta et al., 2020)
A taxonomy chart showing the names & numbers of all birds.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: AvesOrder: Falconiformes Family: AccipitridaeGenus: GypaetusSpecies: Gypaetus barbatus
(Tenenzapf, 2011)
(Tenenzapf, 2011)
Relating to Nutritional Ecology
Relating to Nutritional Ecology
Feeding Behavior
Feeding Behavior
Bones are 70-90% of their diet!
Prefers fatty bones over non-fatty bones because they have a higher percentage of oleic acid
Choosing fatty, nutritious bones optimizes their foraging efficiency!
They can ingest bones of up to 1 foot in length, which are digested because of their high stomach acidity (estimated to have a pH of 1)
Also hunts and preys on tortoises or various species of birds.
Once they find a carcass, they will wait for other scavengers to pick the bones clean before eating.
Small bones are swallowed whole!
Larger bones need to be dropped repeatedly onto boulders to break them into smaller pieces (to eat the marrow inside)
This technique is used on tortoises, marmots, hares, and more!
Top= bearded vulture Right= cinereous vulture Bottom= griffon vulture Left= Egyptian vulture
When feeding their young, they carry food using their talons and beak
Unlike other vultures, they don’t regurgitate to feed—scraps of meat or skin are fed to the chicks instead.
Since bearded vultures are territorial and solitary, they don't share their food.
Dominance Hierarchy:
Larger and older bearded vultures are more dominant compared to juveniles.
Compared to other European vultures, such as the cinereous vulture, griffon vulture, and Egyptian vulture, bearded vultures are the 3rd most aggressive.
Their size relative to other vultures is smaller, which contributes to their not always being successful as aggressors.
Although the other vultures don't consume bones as their main diet, bearded vultures still have to wait for them to finish eating the carcass meat to get to the bones.
(Houston and Copsey, 1994; Margalida et al., 2009; Margalida et al., 2020; Moreno-Opo et al., 2020; Orta et al., 2020; Sanz et al., 2025)
Digestive Anatomy
Digestive Anatomy
Hindgut fermenter with a specialized digestive tract
Not too much fermentation ability, since their diet is mostly bones, marrow, or carcass meat.
Their esophagus is highly elastic, expandable, and thickened. Why?
For the passage of large bones
To protect it from sharp bone pieces
And to store food!
They have no clearly defined crop.
The crop is a diverticulum off the esophagus and a large storage region in front of the stomach.
Though it stores food for later retrieval or digestion, bearded vultures can store food in their esophagus, which accomodates for large bones.
The only species of vulture to lack the crop.
Additionally, they lack a gizzard-like portion of the stomach to grind food mechanically.
The stomach is tubular and elastic; it produces nearly pure hydrochloric acid (HCL)
An acidic stomach is vital for digesting bones! This is the key to their diet being mainly bones.
(Houston and Copsey, 1994; Margalida et al., 2009; Margalida et al., 2020; Sanz et al., 2025)
A video of a bearded vulture eating bones!
A large rabbit bone, inside a bearded vulture after swallowing it. Already passed from esophagus; inside the stomach!
Nutritional Ecology
Nutritional Ecology
Discontinuous feeder
Since they aren't grazers, they eat when given the opportunity; they eat high-quality food infrequently.
Obligate scavengers, since they eat carrion, or dead animals exclusively. In their case, the bones of dead animals!
Opportunistic carnivore
When they have the opportunity, they will eat tortoises and other prey.
Harvesting Equipment: Beak & Talons
Normally, vultures use their beaks to tear at meat.
Bearded vultures instead use their beak to break bones to make them into smaller pieces or eat the marrow inside!
When breaking larger bones, they use their talons to drop them.
Ossivore
To eat bones requires a specialized digestive system:
Their elastic esophagus also helps them swallow and store large bones.
They have a specialized, extremely acidic stomach that allows them to consume bones.
Since they eat bones whole, they don't need a crop or gizzard to help digest food!
(Houston and Copsey, 1994; Margalida, 2009; Tenenzapf, 2011; Orta et al., 2020;)
Reference List
Reference List
Bertran, J., and A. Margalida. 2002. Social Organization of a Trio of Bearded Vulture (gypaetus Barbatus): Sexual and Parental Roles. J Raptor Res. 36(1):66-70. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jrr/vol36/iss1/11
Houston, D. C., and J. A.Copsey. 1994. Bone Digestion and Intestinal Morphology of the Bearded Vulture. J Raptor Res. 28(2):73-78. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jrr/vol28/iss2/1
Margalida, A., J. Bertran, and R. Heredia. 2009. Diet and food preferences of the endangered Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus: A basis for their conservation. Ibis. 151:235-243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00904.x
Margalida, A., K. Schulze-Hagen, B. Wetterauer, C. Domhan, P. Oliva-Vidal, and M. Wink. 2020. What do minerals in the feces of Bearded Vultures reveal about their dietary habits? Sci Total Environ. 728:1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138836.
Moreno-Opo, R., A. Trujillano, and A. Margalida. 2020. Larger size and older age confer competitive advantage: dominance hierarchy within European vulture guild. Sci. Rep. 10:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59387-4
Orta, J., E. de Juana, J. S. Marks, C. J. Sharpe, and E. Garcia. 2020. Bearded vulture (Gypaetus Barbatus), version 1.0. Birds of the World. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/lammer1/cur/introduction (Accessed 08 November 2025)
Sanz, M., I. Attard, J. Daura, and J.-D. Vigne. 2025. Non-Ingested Scapulae and Mandibles Accumulated in Nests by Bearded Vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) in Corsica: A Neo-Taphonomic Analysis. Int J Osteoarchaeol, 35:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3394
Tenenzapf, J. 2011. “Gypaetus barbatus” (Online), Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gypaetus_barbatus/ (Accessed 10 November 2025.)
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