Black vulture

    Aegypius monachus

Castilian: Buitre negro

Catalan: Voltor negre

Gallego: Voitre negro

Euskera: Sai motza

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 “Vulnerable”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

listen song

THREATS

The primary problem is human disturbances in breeding areas, although the lack of livestock carcasses due to new regulations and the illegal use of poisons should also be taken into account.

Length / size: 100-115 cm / 165-290 cm

Identification: It is the largest bird of prey in Europe. It is a brown, almost black, colour, with a ruff of feathers at the neck, short dark down feathers that cover its head, and a bluish colour at the base of the bill, which is an important characteristic. In juveniles, the base of the bill is pink. In flight is looks big, with wide and straight wings that are pointed slightly downward or are flat.

Song: It is a silent bird.

Diet: Scavenging bird that scans the land from a short distance and thus finds smaller prey and animals that are in closed areas and go unnoticed by other birds of prey, such as rabbits. But it also frequents dumps and landfills and feeds on carcasses of domesticated animals such as cows, sheep and pigs.

Reproduction: This species' reproductive cycle is quite long and it usually breeds in colonies, although it maintains a certain distance between itself and other members. Courtship begins in January with mating flights with the mate with which it will spend the rest of its life, and with the building of the nest by both sexes. It is a platform of sticks with fresh leaves, wool and other materials. The clutch includes just one egg that is incubated by both adults; in April or May, the chick is born, and will be cared for by both adults.

HABITAT

It occupies forest areas and has no preference with regard to the kind of tree. Its breeding and feeding areas are different: it is seen feeding in grassy areas where livestock is present, normally in the company of other scavengers.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the southwestern quadrant of the peninsula: Extremadura, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Madrid and Andalusia. It is also found on the Balearic Islands, specifically on the island of Majorca.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout Ávila, Salamanca and Segovia, specifically in the mountains of Guadarrama, Gredos and Gata.

Movements and migrations: Immature specimens disperse to areas far away from where they were born, such as the Guadalquivir swamps, the pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges, some places in Levante, and the Cantabrian coast.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1400 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 231 breeding pairs (2000 data).