The Bearded Vulture

Its scientific name Gypaetus barbatus alludes to its body appearance (from the Greek “Gyps”: vulture and “aetos”: eagle and from the Latin “barbatus” due to the beard that protrudes under its beak). It has eyes surrounded by a red sclerotyl ring, which stands out more when the specimen is more aggressive or nervous. A black mask extends from the eyes to the base of the beak, where filoplumes (beards) appear. On the top of the head there are black feathers that form a hood. The tail is wedge-shaped or diamond-shaped and the tarsi are covered with feathers. It has different types of plumage depending on age (juvenile, subadult and adult). They have the same color for both sexes, in the case of adults orange due to the habit of dyeing their plumage with mud.

Juvenile dispersion

Pre-adults carry out dispersive movements both in the Pyrenees and towards other mountain massifs: Picos de Europa, Iberian System, etc. Possibly, one of the most critical stages of their life cycle is the juvenile dispersion, a period that can be defined as the permanent movement that a specimen makes from its place of birth to the place where it reproduces or could reproduce, if it has survived and has found another individual. In most raptors, juveniles are more likely to make longer movements, since a significant proportion of adults are territorial. Pre-adult birds tend to concentrate on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees (January-April), with dense nuclei around the Supplementary Feeding Points (SFPs). The four to five year-old specimens are the ones that make the greatest movements in the Cordillera, but when they reach seven years of age, there is a decrease in the dispersion radius, especially between October and December, possibly due to territorial behavior. It is very significant, in this age group, the appearance of activity centers in the western and eastern ends of the Cordillera, which could favor the stable settlement of important population centers in these segments of the Pyrenees; in addition, and in the specific case of the western nucleus (Navarra and Basque Country), its consideration as an authentic geographical bridge between the Pyrenees and other mountain territories of the Iberian Peninsula (Cantabrian Mountain Range) could be of great importance and strategic interest for the management of the species.

It is a territorial vulture present in some mountainous regions of Europe, Asia and Africa, occupying between 1 and 10 million km2 and with an estimated population of between 10,000 and 100,000 individuals. Two subspecies G. b. barbatus which is the most widespread and is found in the main mountain ranges of Eurasia and North Africa (Atlas, Pyrenees, islands of Corsica and Crete, Asia Minor, Middle East, Caucasus, Iran, Hindu Kush, Tian Shan, Altai, Pamir Plateau, Karakorum, Kuen Lun and Himalaya) and G. b. meridional The main distinguishing feature of the two subspecies is the absence of black feathers in the auricular region of G. auris, which is distributed in some mountains of southern and eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia (Abyssinian range) and South Africa (Drackensberg range), as well as in some isolated mountainous enclaves in Kenya and Tanzania. The main distinguishing feature of both subspecies is the absence of black feathers in the auricular region of G. b. meridionalis .
Actualmente tan solo se conocen adecuadamente las poblaciones de la UE: Pirineos, Alpes, Córcega y Creta y Sudáfrica.

Carried out through visual observations by FCQ technicians and volunteer observers, and by telemetric radio-tracking at dominant points and near the feeding sites of necrophagous birds.