Lammergeier
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The lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) is an Old World vulture that is found in southern Europe, west and central Asia and a few regions in Africa. It is a bird of mountainous regions and open grassland.
It has huge wings, a wedge-shaped tail and feathers at the base of its bill that resemble a beard. In length it measures up to four feet (1.2 metres), and it weighs 10-15 pounds (4.5-7 kg). Males and females have similar plumage to each other.
The lammergeier – as might be expected – feeds on carrion, but unlike many similar species it does not leave the bones of its food sources to glisten in the sun. It has a particular taste for bone marrow, which it obtains by carrying large bones high into the air and dropping them on to rocks in order to break them open.
Lammergeiers are not regarded as a threatened species, being relatively common in their local habitats.
It has huge wings, a wedge-shaped tail and feathers at the base of its bill that resemble a beard. In length it measures up to four feet (1.2 metres), and it weighs 10-15 pounds (4.5-7 kg). Males and females have similar plumage to each other.
The lammergeier – as might be expected – feeds on carrion, but unlike many similar species it does not leave the bones of its food sources to glisten in the sun. It has a particular taste for bone marrow, which it obtains by carrying large bones high into the air and dropping them on to rocks in order to break them open.
Lammergeiers are not regarded as a threatened species, being relatively common in their local habitats.
