Bearded vultures live high up in the mountains of Europe, Asia and Africa. A bearded vulture is a very big bird, and it can glide for hours without flapping its wings.
An adult bearded vulture weighs about 4.5 to 7 kilograms (10 to 15 pounds). It measures 94 to 125 centimeters (37 to 49 inches) from beak to tail, and its wings spread 231 to 283 centimeters (91 to 111 inches) from tip to tip.
A young bearded vulture is dark brown. As it grows up, the feathers of its head, chest and belly turn white.
A grown-up bearded vulture has orange feathers, most of all on its chest. Bearded vultures bathe in water that has iron in it, which dyes their chest feathers orange.
A bearded vulture eats mostly bones. It swallows small bones whole. If a bone is too big to swallow, the bird carries it high up and drops it onto rocks. Very strong acid in its stomach helps it digest bones.
A bearded vulture helps clean up nature by eating what other animals leave behind. It finds food by using its eyes.
The bird has a dark beard by its beak, and both males and females have it. Its other name is lammergeier. In Spain it is called Quebrantahuesos, which means bone breaker.
A bearded vulture builds its nest on a ledge of a rock cliff. It lines the nest with sticks, wool, hair and even rags. A pair of bearded vultures raises one chick in a breeding season. Young chicks cannot digest bone, so their parents bring them fresh meat first.
People brought bearded vultures back to the Alps in 1986, starting in Austria.
In zoos, bearded vultures can live to be 40 to 50 years old. They live in places between 300 and 4,500 meters above sea level.
Words to know
- digest: break down food
- acid: strong liquid
- iron: a metal
- breeding: raising young
