Griffon vulture
The Griffon vulture, also known as the Eurasian griffon, is a large scavenging bird of prey belonging to the family of Old World vultures. These impressive birds are typically found in mountainous regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia, where they roost in colonies of 30 to 40 individuals. With a wingspan of up to 9 feet, Griffon vultures are equipped to soar effortlessly on thermal air currents while searching for carrion, which they consume to help maintain the health of their ecosystems. They primarily feed on the remains of large animals such as cattle, sheep, and deer, and have adapted to changes in farming practices that have affected their food sources.
Griffon vultures are known for their distinctive light brown plumage and sparse downy feathers on their heads and necks, which help prevent messiness while feeding. They mate for life, returning to the same nesting sites each year, where they raise a single chick after a lengthy incubation period. Although they face threats primarily from human activities, Griffon vultures are not considered a threatened species and can live for more than 40 years in the wild. Their role as scavengers is crucial for the environment, as they help prevent disease by consuming carcasses before they decay.
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Griffon vulture
Griffon vultures are large, scavenging birds of prey. The vultures function as one of nature's garbage collectors which prevent disease in their habitat by eating dead animals. The griffon vulture is sometimes called the Eurasian griffon vulture.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Gyps
Species: Fulvus
In mountainous regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia griffon vultures roost in colonies of 30 to 40 birds. These large birds of prey are members of the family of Old World vultures. They find rocky outcrops or cliff edges in open areas on which to live but avoid very high, cold, and wet mountains. They often live near farms but have little contact with human beings. They soar and glide on the warm, rising air currents, called thermals, for hours at a time with very little effort.
Griffon vultures are nearly four to 4 1/2 feet (a little over one meter) long. Light brown or tan plumage, or feathering, covers their bodies. Heads and necks have white, short, downy feathers. White collars of feathers encircle the bases of their necks. Dark brown and black feathers cover their wings, which are eight or nine feet (2 1/2 to three meters) across. Such large and powerful wings carry their 13- to 24-pound (six to 11 kilogram) bodies without difficulty.
Griffon vultures are one of nature's garbage collectors. They are both scavengers and carnivores. They eat dead animals before they rot and become sources of disease in their habitat. In the past, the vultures quite often ate dead cattle or livestock, such as cows, sheep, horses, donkeys, and goats. As farming practices have changed there are fewer of these dead animals available for the vultures. They also consume different types of deer, such as red and fallow deer, and camels.
Each morning an entire colony of 30 or 40 birds leaves the roost and flies together up to 35 miles (55 kilometers) to look for food. They then separate and search for carrion, or dead animal flesh. When one vulture finds a meal, it drops to the ground, and all the others join in the feast. Sometimes the birds may fight at carcasses, or bodies of dead animals, to determine which birds eat first. These fights may have loud hissing and squawking, but the birds rarely injure each other. Sharp, hooked beaks and bone-crunching jaws allow the vultures to get to the meat and other flesh. The vultures have sparse, downy plumage (feathering) on their heads and necks. This down does not become as messy from blood as would longer feathers. Sometimes griffon vultures eat so much that they cannot fly away. They then regurgitate some food so that they are light enough to fly again.
Griffon vultures form pairs which mate for life. Mating season lasts throughout January. In general, the vultures use the same nesting sites and nests each year. A pair repairs its nest of twigs, leaves, and grass on a ledge or rocky outcropping near the nests of other vultures within the colony. A female lays a single, large, oval, white egg, which may have reddish-brown markings. The male helps his mate incubate the egg for 52 to 60 days. Both parents regurgitate meat for their young to eat. When the chick four months old it is able to fly for the first time, or to fledge. After four or five years the young vulture becomes an adult and is able to mate.
Humans and human activity are the only real threat to the griffon vulture as they have no natural predators. The life span of griffon vultures can be over 40 years. They are not a threatened species.
Bibliography
“Griffon Vulture.” Vulture Conservation Foundation, 4vultures.org/vultures/griffon-vulture. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.
“Griffon Vulture - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia, 2024, animalia.bio/griffon-vulture. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.