Bearded Vulture / Lammergeier

Bearded vultures have reddish yellow or white plumage on the head and breast with a grey black tail and wings. In the adult individual the black strip over the eyes and the bristles at the base of the beak form the distinctive appearance of a beard. The Bearded vulture defends huge territories in which the pair feeds and breeds. A pair are unlikely to tolerate the presence of other mature individuals of the species in their territory. The territory size is about 200-400 km2 and therefore the distribution of the species is rather sparse. The bearded vulture is monogamous. In Europe, it forms a pair between November and December and eggs are laid between December and February. They usually lay two eggs, but the 2nd egg, which is smaller, is a form of biological insurance and the chick is usually killed by its older sibling in the first weeks after hatching. The bearded vulture is the only animal that feeds almost exclusively on bone (70-90%). In Crete, it is known as the "bone-eater". 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.  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.