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Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Gypaetus
Species: Bird
Evolution
Evolution
Subspecies: Gypaetus barbatus barbatus is distributed across Europe and Asia, Gypaetus barbatus meridionalis is found in north-east Africa, east Africa and extends into southern Africa.
Existence: First discovered in 1944 in the Negev desert. Referenced in greek mythology as well as the bible and torah.
Closest living relative: The Egyptian vulture
Ancestors: Split from other old world Vultures such as the griffon vulture, black vulture and the indian vultures early in time.
Description
Description
Physical Characteristics: mostly dark gray, rusty, and whitish in color. It is grey-blue to grey-black above. a black band across the eyes and lores and bristles under the chin, which form a black beard that give the species its English name. Bearded vultures are variably orange or rust of plumage on their head, breast, and leg feathers.
Key Characteristics: White head and dark beard along with black stripes on face.
Size: 37-49 inches long with a wing span of 7 ft 7 in – 9 ft 3 in
Weight: 9.9–17.2 lbs
Life Span: mean lifespan of 21.4 years, but have lived for up to at least 45 years in captivity
Males Vs Females: Females are slightly larger than males, same coloration however.
Habitat
Habitat
Rainfall: This species is associated with mountains and cliffs, crags, precipices, canyons, and gorges. living in mountains throughout much of the old world causes many variations in rainfall.
Plants: It typically lives around or above the tree line which are often near the tops of the mountains.
Animals: Bearded vultures live in ranges from south Africa to rare occasions Great Britain, giving a wide array of animals it can interact with.
Temperature: similar to plants and animals, the temperatures that bearded vultures are subjected to vary, however they are almost only found in mountains so on the cooler side.
Terrain: the bearded vulture is found almost strictly in mountains.
Distribution
Distribution
Found: found from the tip of South Africa all the way north to the caucasus region of Russia as well as the middle east.
Invasive: not invasive to any areas however has been extinct from some areas in Europe
Diet
Diet
What: The bearded vulture diet comprises mammals (93%), birds (6%) and reptiles (1%) mostly scavenged
How often: scavenging diet eating as often as possible
How does it get its food: the bearded vulture eats the most bones out of any animals and does this by dropping bones form high in the air to crack them into smaller edible pieces.
Special foods: lives on a diet that is typically 85–90% bone marrow
Social structure
Social structure
Solo or pack: The Bearded Vulture is a solitarily animal, however during breeding season the pairs are considerably close.
Roles: Solitary animal until breeding time
Reproduction
Reproduction
How Often: Bearded vultures breed once a year, typically laying 1 to 2 eggs per breeding season.
How many mates: Bearded Vultures are most commonly monogamous
Time of year: varies depending on continent
Mating rituals: The large birds regularly lock feet with each other and fall some distance through the sky with each other.
Offspring: Bearded Vultures typically lay 1to 2 eggs a year
Unique Characteristics: The young may be dependent on the parents for up to 2 years
Development
Development
Stages of development: After hatching, the young spend 100 to 130 days in the nest before fledgling, Wild bearded vultures have a mean lifespan of 21.4 years, but have lived for up to at least 45 years in captivity.
How old before sexual maturity: it takes up to 5 to 7 years for birds to reach sexual maturity, but breeding success usually occurs from the age of 8 onwards.
Activities and environment of stages: typically, the bearded vulture nests in caves and on ledges and rock outcrops or caves on steep rock walls
Differences between male and females: Females, the dominant sex, are brighter than males.
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