Griffon Vulture - description, habitat, interesting facts

The white-headed vulture is a characteristic representative of its species, it belongs to the family of hawkish, and it is in the order of birds of prey. The length of this bird's body reaches 105 centimeters, it has a tail 29 centimeters long, the width of its wingspan can reach up to 265 centimeters, and the maximum weight of an adult is 10 kilograms.

The Vulture has a plumage of a characteristic pale-yellow color, the wing feathering of its wings, as well as the tail feathers located in the tail of a bird, are highlighted by a darker shade. The head and the entire long neck of the scavenger have a coating of short down of bright white color on the chest, around its neck there is a ring of white plumage, resembling in appearance a fur collar.

The bird has a large beak, curved into the shape of a hook, used for cutting carcasses.On the ground vulture moves on poorly developed legs, dull claws which can serve as a support, allowing you to keep balance. In the process of feeding, poorly adapted bird claws do not participate.

You can meet the white-headed vulture in the mountainous regions of Asia, in Turkey, and also in the vast northwestern part of Africa. In addition, the bird lives in France and adjacent Spain, on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea - Sardinia and Crete, as well as Cyprus and Sicily.

During the past century, the number of white-headed vulture in Europe has decreased significantly. In this area for a large scavenger to get food for yourself is not an easy task. In Spain, a program was launched to help feed the birds, animal carcasses were introduced into bird nesting areas to provide food for vultures.

Individual bird characteristics

The next feature of this species of birds is that the strong wiry neck of the bird, like its head, does not have the usual plumage for birds, they are covered with a rather soft covering consisting of down. This characteristic is capable of giving the bird additional advantages in dressing carcasses - blood and small pieces of flesh falling on the neck or head of the bird, well behind the downy surface.

Using the capabilities of his well-honed beak, the Griffon Vulture with ease ease removes only all the fragments that make up the muscle tissue of the victim. There are no exceptions even knots bundles, formed from strong veins.

Excretion of the White-headed vultures

The nesting season for the Griffon Vulture begins in January and continues until April.Before mating, birds perform a characteristic dance, typical of birds during the mating season. A couple rises into the sky and starts circling in complete silence, sometimes performing complex acrobatic stunts. The main condition for this dance is the complete synchronization of joint actions, even the wings of birds move like reflections in the mirror. The circular movements are performed by the partners in a spiral, adhering to the desire to soar higher with each next turn of the spiral. Gathering the required height, the birds continue to circle each other, continuing their dance.

For their nesting facilities, griffon vultures are collected in colonies numbering from 20 to 30 individuals. For the construction of their nests, birds of this species choose non-accessible ledges located on steep mountain slopes or inaccessible niches that are sometimes found in rocks.

The vulture female lays a clutch consisting of one egg, in rare cases there may be 2. In the incubation of the offspring, both individuals take part, alternately replacing each other, the incubation period lasts for 42 to 50 days.

To the light, vultures appear blind, with a covering consisting only of the skin, completely devoid of feathers or fluff.Adult animals use food in their stomachs to feed the chicks. To do this, they have to regurgitate the half-digested food fragments and feed them to the chicks as baby food.

Birds begin to make the first attempts to leave the nest at the age of 90 days, and the first flight experience falls only on the 16th week of life of young individuals. The white-headed vultures reach their maturity only in the fifth year of life.

Characteristic habitats

Representatives of the griffon vulture species form their habitats near mountain ranges or rocks. At high altitude the birds feel completely safe, here they find everything they need for their rest and the construction of nests. An excellent view opens up from the heights, helping the vultures to monitor the surrounding area in order to detect potential prey. But mountain peaks, located at too high a height, with excessively cold and wet conditions, do not attract white-headed vultures.

Representatives of this species of birds try to keep away from people, avoiding direct contact with them.Although they often locate their nesting sites near various villages, it is easier for them to find their prey among fallen domestic animals, which often die or are to be destroyed, as a result of various epidemics that are not rare today.

Night time griffon vultures spend on the tops of the cliffs, which they have chosen, forming flocks consisting of 30-40 individuals. They are not in a hurry to leave their places for the night, for this they need to wait until the morning sun warms up the earth well, creating air currents ascending to the sky, facilitating flight conditions for the birds.

Towards evening, when the sun is setting, the vultures have to return to the overnight place. A daily ceremony is performed here, when the birds fly around the territory of the night at the beginning, and then sit in turns, each in his own place.

Nature has given representatives of birds of this species an extraordinary sensitivity to the movement of air masses. They very clearly capture the warm air currents that rise from heated surfaces, and are able to soar in the sky for many hours, without wasting their energy.

The diet of large birds

Griffon vulture is considered a bird of prey, although the main diet of its food is carrion. Only in exceptional cases does he get fresh meat when he falls to attack small animals or finish off a weakened victim. But he prefers a vulture to rip off the corpses of various hoofed animals, which he skillfully carves using his well-adapted beak.

In flight, a griffon vulture keeps warm air currents emanating from the heated soil. Holding in their stream with the help of huge wings, the bird moves in a spiral, gradually rising upwards. Despite the fact that they fly apart in different directions, they do not lose eye contact with each other. This technique allows them to patrol vast territories.

When someone from the flock is lucky enough to detect prey, he goes down, and the rest of the individuals,seeing his maneuver, rush to join the feast. There is a certain hierarchy in the pack of vultures. The leader of the pack starts the meal first, he slowly, unpacks the skin of the dead animal and immerses his head in the inside of the carcass. Only then can other birds join it, waiting for the end of the obligatory ritual.

Video: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)