Griffon Vulture

Gyps fulvus

Wingspan

230–265cm

Body length

95–110cm

Weight

6,000–9,000g

Profile

Life expectancy
Clutch size: 1 egg
Global status
Activity
Migration

Identification

Very broad wings with pale coverts and dark flight feathers; short tail and a small head drawn in during flight. Adults have a pale neck ruff, juveniles a brown one.

Colours

Plumage

Eyes

Legs & feet

Adult

Pale neck ruff, horn-coloured bill and sandy-brown wing coverts above dark flight feathers. The sexes are similarly coloured.

Behaviour

It uses updrafts for long search flights. Many vultures often gather at carcasses, settling their places with threat displays and harsh calls.

Breeding & rearing

Usually breeds in colonies on sheltered rock ledges. Both parents incubate for about 52–58 days and feed the chick for several months.

Diet

Prey examples

Carrion

It feeds mainly on the meat and offal of dead large mammals. Carcasses of livestock and wild ungulates provide the main diet.

Hunting

Scavenging Search flight

It gains height on thermals and scans wide areas. When one vulture finds a carcass, others often follow. Its long neck reaches the soft parts inside.

Distribution

Range

Southern Europe, North Africa & Asia

Status in Germany

Rare visitor

Habitat

Open grazing land and mountains with cliffs and gorges as breeding and roosting sites.

Open mountain slopes with rocks and alpine meadows — Mountains

Rock faces and ledges above open scrubland — Rocky landscapes

Open meadows, fields and varied hedgerow landscape — Meadows & fields