Griffon vulture

    Gyps fulvus

Castilian: Buitre leonado

Catalan: Voltor comú

Gallego: Voitre

Euskera: Sai arrea

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Falconiformes

Family: Accipitridae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

Food shortage due to new legislation regarding the treatment of livestock carcasses and remains, poisoning, disturbances in breeding colonies and accidents with electrical cables and wind farms.

Length / size: 95-110 cm / 230-265 cm

Identification: It is a large bird of prey, with its featherless head and long neck and the characteristic ruff of feathers. With generally greyish-brown plumageEs una rapaz de gran tamaño, con la cabeza y el largo cuello desplumados y con la carácterística gola de plumas. Con un plumaje en general pardo grisáceo, la parte dorsal más clara, mientras que por el vientre es de color marrón y con las rémiges oscuras. El color del pico y la gola son características que difieren en adultos y juveniles: los adultos tienen el pico de color hueso, la gola blanca y algodonosa y el plumón de la cabeza claro y el iris amarillento; los juveniles tiene el pico de color negro, la gola desflecada y con plumas de color rojizo y los ojos negros. En vuelo se observa un ave de gran tamaño, con unas alas largas y anchas, ligeramente en "V" y una cola reducida.

Song: Silent, except when fighting for carrion or better spots in the roost, when it makes a series of snorts and guttural sounds.

Diet: Scavenging bird that feeds on wild and domesticated hoofed animals; it can currently be found in landfills searching for scraps.

Reproduction: Species that breeds in colonies; courtship begins in winter to to reaffirm the ties that it maintains for life. Both sexes build the nest on ledges and in caves in rocky chasms (sometimes they occupy the nests of other rock-nesting species), and the nest is made of sticks, straw, wool and other materials. The eggs are laid between mid-January and February, and the clutch consists of only one egg. Incubation is done by both adults, and caring for the lone chick requires much dedication.

HABITAT

It lives in rocky mountainous or river canyon areas, but near open areas with livestock.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: The largest populations are concentrated in Aragon, Castile and León, Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, Navarre and Extremadura.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces, with the largest populations in Burgos, Segovia and Salamanca.

Movements and migrations: Juveniles make short dispersive and erratic movements about the peninsula, sometimes reaching northern Africa. Between October and November, and April and may, imporant movements in the Strait of Gibraltar occur.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 17337-18070 breeding pairs (1999 data).

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 5038 breeding pairs (1999 data).