Bearded vulture - Ecology & Habitat

There can be only one...

Bearded Vultures are generally diurnal - active during daytime - shy, peaceful and elusive, avoiding contact with humans. This species may be the best climber out of all bird species around the world, and sometimes builds a crude platform in tall trees to feed from or rest on. However, this nest-type structure can also be built at ground level and consists of a pile of leaves and branches. Bearded Vultures bathe frequently in mountain ponds and streams.

Social Structure
The bearded vulture is monogamous. In Europe, it forms a pair between November and December and eggs are laid between December and February. Incubation lasts up to 58 days. Fledging takes between 110 and 120 days while sexual maturity is reached in 5 to 7 years. Bearded Vultures usually lay two eggs, but normally only one chick fledges. The eggs are laid at an interval of about a week. Thus the second chick hatches much later and is smaller than the first one.

Young Bearded Vultures are very aggressive, and the older bird kills the younger one during the first weeks after hatching. The second egg is a biological reserve in case anything happens to the first. The behaviour of the older of the two young birds is called cainism after the first fratricide mentioned in the Christian bible. In this case, though, cainism is a good thing, since there would not be enough food for two nestlings. The Bearded vulture defends huge areas (territories), in which the pair feeds and breeds. The pair rarely tolerates the presence of other mature individuals of the species in their territory.

Life Cycle
It nests during the winter period between mid-December and the end of January in small caves on rocky cliffs or in deep gorges with steep slopes. The female lays two eggs and she incubates them for 55-57 days. However, as with most birds of prey, only one young fledges. The young fledges in the end of June or in the beginning of July and becomes sexually mature after at least six years. The young fledges in the end of June or in the beginning of July and becomes sexually mature after at least six years. The territory size is about 200-400 km2 and therefore the distribution of the species is rather sparse.

Diet
The Bearded vulture is the only animal that feeds almost exclusively on bone (70-90%). In Crete, the shepherds call it the "Bone-eater", as they have watched the bird breaking bones in a very characteristic way, since the old times. The bird throws the larger bones from a height on to rocky slopes in order to break them, and immediately descends after them in a characteristic spiral way.

If the bone does not break the first time, the method is repeated many times until the bone finally breaks. The bird then eats the bone pieces starting with the bone marrow. The smaller bones are swallowed whole, as the bird's gastric fluids are so strong that they can digest bone easily. This dietary habit seems odd, but once bones have been digested, they are a nutritious and easily storable type of food; in addition, the bird faces minimal competition for this type of food.