The Bearded Vulture, also known as the Lammergeier, is one of the most distinctive of all birds of prey. Unlike other vultures it has a feathered head rather than a bare one, and a tuft of black bristles beneath the bill gives it the beard that lends the bird its name. Its plumage is dark above and often a rich rusty-orange below, a colour the birds create by deliberately bathing in iron-rich mud and dust.
Most remarkable is its diet. The Bearded Vulture is the only bird in the world that lives almost entirely on bone, which makes up the great majority of its food. To reach the marrow inside large bones it carries them aloft and drops them onto rocks to shatter them, returning to swallow the fragments. A bird of remote high mountains, it soars on long, narrow wings and a diamond-shaped tail across some of the wildest terrain on earth.
An adult is unmistakable at close range: a large raptor with a pale, orange-tinged head and underparts, dark grey upperwings and a wedge-shaped tail. In flight the long narrow wings and long diamond tail create a silhouette quite unlike the broad-winged, short-tailed shape of other vultures. Juveniles are darker with a blackish head.
| Size | About 100-115 cm long, one of the largest raptors |
| Wingspan | Very broad, from around 2.3 to 2.8 m |
| Head | Feathered and pale, with a black mask and bristly beard |
| Underparts | Often rusty-orange, stained by mineral-rich dust |
| Wings | Long and narrow, held flat in soaring flight |
| Tail | Long and diamond or wedge-shaped |
The Bearded Vulture is largely silent away from the nest. When it does call, it produces thin, high-pitched whistles and shrill trilling notes, sounds that seem surprisingly delicate for so large a bird. Vocalisations are most often heard around the breeding site or during courtship displays.
The species has a patchy distribution across the mountains of southern Europe, Africa and Asia, including the Pyrenees, Alps, the mountains of the Balkans, the Ethiopian highlands, the Caucasus, the Himalayas and the ranges of central Asia. It is a bird of high, rugged country, favouring cliffs, gorges and alpine meadows well above the treeline, and it is largely resident within its territory.
Bone is the core of the diet, an extraordinary specialisation unmatched by any other bird. The Bearded Vulture swallows smaller bones whole and drops larger ones from height onto favoured rock slabs to break them open for the marrow. It also takes some carrion flesh and, occasionally, tortoises, which it cracks by the same drop technique.
Pairs nest on sheltered cliff ledges or in caves, building a large stick nest lined with wool, hide and other soft material. The female usually lays two eggs, but typically only one chick survives, as the older sibling generally outcompetes the younger. The single youngster is raised over a long breeding season before it fledges.
- Egyptian Vulture: Much smaller with a bare yellow face and white plumage, though also a tool-user
- Griffon Vulture: Broader-winged and short-tailed with a bare head and pale ruff, a flesh-eating scavenger
- Cinereous Vulture: A huge dark vulture with broad wings and a short tail, lacking the orange tones
Why is it called the Lammergeier?
Lammergeier is an old German name meaning 'lamb-vulture', from a mistaken belief that the birds carried off lambs. In reality they feed on bone and carrion, not live prey.
How does the Bearded Vulture eat bone?
It swallows small bones whole and drops large ones from height onto rock to shatter them, then eats the fragments. Its digestive system is highly acidic and can dissolve bone.
Why are Bearded Vultures orange?
The rusty colour is not natural pigment. The birds deliberately bathe in iron-rich mud and dust, staining their pale feathers orange, which may signal status or condition.
Are Bearded Vultures dangerous to livestock?
No. Despite old legends, they do not attack lambs or other live animals. They are specialist scavengers that feed mainly on the bones of already dead carcasses.