The Bearded Vulture, the majestic "bone-breaker" of the high mountains.
Introduction
The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the Lammergeier, is one of the largest and most unique birds of prey in the world, belonging to the Accipitridae family. Unique in its kind, it is the only vertebrate whose diet consists of almost 90% bones, earning it the nickname "bone-breaker". Its Latin name, Gypaetus barbatus, refers to its morphology: "gyps" (vulture), "aetos" (eagle) for its intermediate silhouette, and "barbatus" (bearded) for the tuft of black feathers adorning its beak.
This specialized scavenger is closely tied to steep mountain ecosystems, where it plays a crucial role as a cleaner. Its population experienced a historic decline due to persecution and poisoning, but ambitious conservation programs have allowed its reintroduction and a slow recovery in certain regions, notably the Alps.
Length: 100 to 115 cm (39.4 to 45.3 in).
Wingspan: 2.75 to 3.19 meters (9.0 to 10.5 ft), making it one of the largest flying birds.
Weight: 4.5 to 7.8 kg (9.9 to 17.2 lbs) (females are slightly heavier).
The Bearded Vulture is classified as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the IUCN globally, highlighting the fragility of its populations and the need for continuous conservation efforts.
Our Ornithologist's Advice
By the Les-Oiseaux.com Team, published November 6, 2025.
My personal advice: Observing a Bearded Vulture is a privilege and often an unforgettable moment for any bird enthusiast. Its majestic silhouette and unique behavior make it a fascinating species. Here are my tips to maximize your chances of spotting it:
Aim for high mountains: The Bearded Vulture is strictly a mountain dweller. Concentrate your search in large limestone and granite massifs, such as the Pyrenees, the Alps (where reintroduction programs have been successful), or the Causse Méjean. It favors steep rock faces, glacial cirques, and deep valleys.
Look for the "beard" and orange color: In adults, the 'beard' of black feathers under the beak is a distinctive sign. The reddish to orange plumage on the underparts and head is also very characteristic (this color is acquired by rubbing against rocks rich in iron oxides). In flight, this ventral coloration contrasts with the grey-black back.
Observe its flight silhouette: Its large wingspan and long, cuneiform (diamond-shaped) tail are unique. It often flies with its wings slightly raised in a dihedral, in a silhouette resembling a large cross. It glides with great ease, using thermal and orographic currents.
Spot its "bone-breaking" behavior: This is its most famous characteristic. It carries large bones or vertebrae in flight, drops them from about a hundred meters onto rock slabs to break them, then descends to consume the fragments and marrow. Observing this behavior is rare but fascinating.
Use good spotting scopes or binoculars: Due to the long observation distances in the mountains, quality optical equipment is essential.
The Bearded Vulture is a key indicator of the health of mountain ecosystems. Its presence attests to a rich and undisturbed environment. Contribute to its protection by respecting its tranquility, especially during the breeding season.
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Identification of the Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier)
The Bearded Vulture is a very large bird of prey, with a unique silhouette, often compared to a vulture or a Golden Eagle, but with very distinct characteristics.
Size and Silhouette: It is one of the largest European raptors. It has very long, narrow wings, and an equally long, cuneiform (diamond-shaped) tail. In flight, its silhouette is characteristic, cross-shaped with wings slightly raised in a dihedral.
Adult Plumage:
Upperparts: Slate grey-black on the back, wings, and tail.
Underparts: Whitish to reddish or bright orange on the belly, chest, and neck. This coloration is often due to a "make-up" behavior where the bird rubs itself on rocks and soils rich in iron oxides.
Head: White to cream, with a distinctive black band across the eyes that extends into a "beard" of stiff, black feathers under the beak.
Juvenile Plumage: Young birds are entirely dark brownish-black, with a dark head and lacking the characteristic "beard" of adults. They gradually acquire adult plumage over several years, up to about 5-7 years old.
Beak and Legs: Powerful grey beak with a yellow cere. Legs are strong but surprisingly small relative to its size, adapted for walking and manipulating bones rather than catching live prey.
Eyes: The iris is yellowish-white in adults, surrounded by a bright red eye-ring (called a caruncle), which is particularly visible and distinctive.
Scientific Dimensions and Records (Bearded Vulture)
Characteristic
Male
Female
Average / Record
Length
100 – 110 cm (39.4 – 43.3 in)
105 – 115 cm (41.3 – 45.3 in)
100 – 115 cm (39.4 – 45.3 in)
Wingspan
2.75 – 3.0 m (9.0 – 9.8 ft)
2.9 – 3.19 m (9.5 – 10.5 ft)
2.75 – 3.19 m (9.0 – 10.5 ft)
Weight
4.5 – 6.5 kg (9.9 – 14.3 lbs)
5.5 – 7.8 kg (12.1 – 17.2 lbs)
4.5 – 7.8 kg (9.9 – 17.2 lbs)
Lifespan
20 – 30 years (in the wild)
20 – 30 years (in the wild)
Up to 40 years (in captivity), 20-30 years (in the wild)
These dimensions rank it among the largest and longest-lived raptors in Europe.
Not to be confused with...
Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
The Griffon Vulture is another large European vulture that shares the mountain habitat of the Bearded Vulture. However, the Griffon Vulture has a stockier flight silhouette, with broad wings held in a slight dihedral, and a short, square tail. Its plumage is predominantly brownish-tawny, with a long, bare neck covered in white down and a white ruff of feathers. The Bearded Vulture is more slender, with a long diamond-shaped tail, and its reddish to orange underparts are very distinctive, without a bare neck or ruff.
Although the Golden Eagle is a large mountain raptor, it is smaller than the Bearded Vulture. The Golden Eagle is uniformly dark brown, with a golden nape, and lacks both the "beard" and the orange coloration of the Bearded Vulture. Its tail is shorter and rounded. In flight, its wings are less long relative to its body and often held in a slight dihedral, but its head does not protrude beyond the carpal joints as it does in the Bearded Vulture.
The Andean Condor is even larger than the Bearded Vulture and also shares a mountain habitat, but only in South America. It is mostly black with large white patches on its wings and an almost entirely bare neck, without a "beard". Its head is also bare, with a comb in males. Its flight silhouette is massive with very broad wings, held in a pronounced dihedral.
The Bearded Vulture is generally a silent bird. Outside the breeding season or in the absence of its nest, it emits very few vocalizations. Its calls are mostly contact sounds or territorial calls, rarely melodious.
Its calls can include:
Contact Calls: It may emit soft, flute-like whistles "pee-ee-yoo" or "pwee-pwee" during pair flights or near the nest.
Excitement or Alarm Calls: When excited, during courtship displays or in the presence of intruders near the nest, it can produce louder, drawn-out whistles "ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee" or "kreih-kreih-kreih."
Calls of Young: Chicks and young in the nest emit shrill begging calls, becoming calmer and more whistling as they grow older.
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Habitat and Distribution of the Bearded Vulture
The Bearded Vulture is an exclusively rupicolous species, meaning it lives in the rocky and steep environments of high mountains. Its distribution is fragmented across the main mountain ranges of the Palearctic and certain regions of Africa.
It is primarily found in:
Steep mountain massifs: It favors sheer cliffs, glacial cirques, peaks, and deep valleys of the Pyrenees, the Alps (where it has been successfully reintroduced), the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau, and certain areas of Africa (Atlas Mountains, Ethiopia, Drakensberg in South Africa).
High-altitude zones: It typically lives between 500 and 4,000 meters (1,640 and 13,123 ft) in altitude, and up to 7,000 meters (22,966 ft) in the Himalayas.
Open landscapes: It needs vast open and bare areas to locate carcasses and practice its "bone-breaking" behavior on specific rock slabs.
Populations are generally sedentary, but young birds can undertake long exploratory movements in search of new territories. They are very territorial and solitary birds outside the breeding season.
Distribution Map
Year-round Presence (Resident)
Breeding Area
Non-breeding (Wintering) Area
Passage Area (Migration)
Diet of the Bearded Vulture
The Bearded Vulture is a unique and highly specialized scavenger, often the last to arrive at a carcass, after other vultures and large eagles.
Its diet is quite remarkable and consists almost exclusively of:
Bones: Approximately 80 to 90% of its diet consists of bones from animal carcasses (wild mammals like chamois, ibex, marmots, or domestic animals like sheep, goats, cattle). It can swallow long bones whole, thanks to its very elastic esophagus and a digestive system capable of digesting bone marrow.
"Bone-breaking" technique: For bones that are too large (up to 4 kg / 8.8 lbs and 50 cm / 20 in long), it carries them in its talons or beak, flies up about a hundred meters, and drops them onto rock slabs (called "ossuaries") to break them into manageable fragments. This is a learned behavior specific to the species.
Other: It also consumes scraps of meat, skin, tendons, and ligaments left by other scavengers, as well as tortoises (which it breaks in the same way to access the flesh).
This specialized diet allows it to occupy a unique ecological niche, reducing competition with other vultures and contributing to the cleaning of the mountains. Its role is essential in the nutrient cycle.
Reproduction of the Bearded Vulture
The Bearded Vulture is a monogamous species, forming stable pairs that often remain bonded for life. It exhibits one of the longest and earliest breeding periods of all raptors.
Nesting: The breeding season begins very early, from autumn and winter (October-February), with the construction or refurbishment of the nest. The nest, called an "eyrie," is a massive structure of branches and twigs, lined with wool, animal hair, and sometimes bones. It is always located in inaccessible cliff cavities or overhangs, offering protection and a panoramic view.
Courtship Display: This includes spectacular acrobatic flights by the pair, with chases, dives, and "offering games" of bones.
Eggs: The female typically lays 1 or 2 eggs (rarely 3), which are cream-white spotted with reddish-brown. Laying occurs between December and February. Incubation is long, approximately 53 to 60 days, and is carried out by both parents, but mainly by the female.
Raising the Young: Chicks hatch in early spring. Cainism (the older chick killing the younger) is common, especially during food shortages, ensuring the survival of the strongest. Young birds remain in the nest for an exceptionally long period, 110 to 130 days, which is one of the longest nesting durations among raptors. After fledging, they remain dependent on adults for several months (up to 9 months), learning to master hunting and "bone-breaking" techniques.
Conservation Status of the Bearded Vulture
The Bearded Vulture is classified as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) globally (last assessed in 2021). Its global populations are estimated between 2,000 and 10,000 mature individuals and are considered to be slightly increasing thanks to conservation efforts, but the species remains vulnerable.
Historically, the Bearded Vulture suffered a dramatic decline in Europe and elsewhere, primarily due to:
Direct Persecution: It was once hunted and poisoned, often mistakenly considered a livestock predator (the myth of the "lammergeier" or "lamb-stealer" in Germany).
Poisoning: The use of poisoned baits intended for other carnivores (wolves, foxes) has been and remains a major threat in some regions.
Carcass Availability: Changes in pastoral practices and the rapid removal of livestock carcasses have reduced its main food source.
Disturbance: Human activities in the mountains (mountaineering, hiking, aerial overflights) near nesting sites can cause nest abandonment.
Power Lines: Collisions with cables and electrocution on poorly designed electricity pylons are causes of mortality, particularly for inexperienced young birds.
Major conservation programs, including the reintroduction of captive-bred individuals (notably in the Alps, where the species had disappeared), nest monitoring, complementary food provision at "vulture restaurants" (feeding stations), and public awareness campaigns, have allowed a slow but significant recovery. The species is protected by numerous international legislations (EU Birds Directive, Bern and Bonn Conventions, CITES).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Bearded Vulture
How to identify the Bearded Vulture?
The Bearded Vulture (also known as Lammergeier) is a very large vulture with long, pointed wings and a long, diamond-shaped tail. It is distinguished by its reddish to orange plumage on its underparts and head (especially in adults, acquired by bathing in iron oxide-rich soils), contrasting with a grey-black back. Its name comes from its 'beard' of black feathers under the beak. In flight, its cross-like silhouette with wings held in a dihedral is characteristic.
Where does the Bearded Vulture live?
The Bearded Vulture is a rupicolous species, living exclusively in high mountains. It is found in steep and inaccessible mountain ranges, such as the Pyrenees, the Alps (where it has been reintroduced), the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau, and certain regions of Africa (Atlas Mountains, Ethiopia, South Africa). It requires cliffs for nesting and open areas to find carcasses and practice its unique 'bone-breaking' behavior.
What does the Bearded Vulture eat?
The Bearded Vulture is a specialized scavenger, feeding almost exclusively (90%) on bones from animal carcasses (domestic or wild) found in the mountains. It is the only vertebrate whose diet is almost entirely composed of bones. Bones too large to swallow are carried in flight and dropped onto rock slabs to break them, allowing access to the nutritious marrow. It also consumes scraps of meat and skin.
