Organism of the Week - Bearded Vulture
The bearded vulture or scientifically, the Gypaetus barbatus, is in the Animalia Kingdom, Chordata Phylum, Aves Class, Accipitriformes Order, and Accipitridae Family.
The bearded vulture is described as the Alps’ largest bird known for their steady diet of bones. Their heads have feathers that are reddish yellow or white with black patches on their eyes that extend below their narrow bill in the form of tufted whiskers, which gives an appearance of a beard. Their necks are rusty orange and they have a long wedge-shaped tail that is black. They come in various shades, from pure white to orange-red. Their appearance depends on the soil they rub in their feathers. The soil is stained with iron oxide, giving them their orange feathers. The bearded vulture grows up to 1.15 meters (3.77 feet) in height, a wingspan of 2.7 meters (8.86 feet), and a weight of 5 to 7 kilograms (5000 to 7000 grams). The bearded vulture’s diet consists of 70% to 90% of bone. To eat the large bones, they throw them from a tall height and are then are able to eat the shattered pieces. This also allows them access to the bone marrow and to eat the smaller bones whole.
The bearded vulture is found from southern Europe, Middle East, northeastern China, and north, east, and south Africa. Their habitat is in mountain ranges above the tree line from alpine meadows to sparsely vegetated, rocky slopes. They live in heights above 1,000 meters and their territory size is about 200 to 400 kilometers squared.
The bearded vulture is monogamous, meaning that they only have one mate at a time. They breed once a year between November and December and eggs are laid between December and February. The female usually lays two eggs, but the smaller second egg is a form of biological insurance and is killed by the oldest sibling in the first week after hatching. Chicks develop feathers to fly after 100 to 130 days and are dependent on their parents for up to a year. The average lifespan is 21 years but in captivity, they can live up to 45 years.
Fun Fact: The bearded vulture’s stomach acid has a pH of about 1 so the bones can be digested under 24 hours.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/birds/bearded_vulture/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/58253/11-facts-about-bone-eating-bearded-vulture
https://www.4vultures.org/vultures/bearded-vulture/
http://www.arkive.org/lammergeier/gypaetus-barbatus/









