Black Vulture
The Black Vulture is also known as the Cinereous Vulture, Monk Vulture or Eurasian Black Vulture. It is an Old World vulture and is only distantly related to the New World vultures and is therefore not directly related to the much smaller American Black Vulture despite the similar name and colouration.
The Black Vulture is believed to be the largest true bird of prey in the world.[5] The condors which are slightly larger are now generally considered to be unrelated to the true raptors. This huge bird measures 39 to 47 inches long with a 8 to 10 feet wingspan. The body mass can range from 15 to 31 pounds making it one of the world's heaviest flying birds.
The Black Vulture is distinctly dark with the whole body being dark brown except the pale head in adults which is covered in fine down. The massive blue-grey bill is the largest of any bird of prey, a feature enhanced by the relatively small skull of the species. The wings, with serrated leading edges are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are very broad. Flight is slow and buoyant with deep, heavy flaps when necessary.
The Black Vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and Portugal with a reintroduced population in south France. They are also found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Pakistan and northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia where they breed in northern China, Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. The Black Vulture is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity.
The Black Vulture can be found in hilly and mountainous areas, especially favouring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain including steppe, grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind of mountainous habitat.
In their current European range and through the Middle East, Black Vultures can be found from 2,300 to 6,600 feet in elevation while in their Asian distribution they are typically found at higher elevations.
The Black Vulture is a largely solitary bird, being found alone or in pairs much more frequently than most other Old World vultures. At large carcasses or feeding sites, small groups of less than 10 birds may congregate.
The Black Vulture breeds in loose colonies although nests are rarely found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. It breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until August or September. The huge nest is 4½ to 6½ feet across and 3½ to 10 feet deep and increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years.
Like all vultures, the Black Vulture eats mostly carrion, ranging from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles and it is well equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bone such as ribs to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers including other large vultures such as the Griffon Vulture.
The Black Vulture has declined over most of its range in the last 200 years in part due to eating poisoned bait and also due to higher hygiene standards reducing the amount of available carrion. Trapping and hunting is also particularly prevalent in China and Russia. An even greater threat to this desolation-loving species is development and habitat destruction. The decline has been the greatest in the western half of the range with extinction in many European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Moldovia, Romania) and its entire breeding range in north west Africa (Morocco and Algeria). More recently, protection and deliberate feeding schemes have allowed some local recoveries in numbers, particularly in Spain where numbers increased to about 1,000 pairs by 1992 after an earlier decline to 200 pairs in 1970. Elsewhere in Europe, very small but increasing numbers breed in Bulgaria and Greece and a re-introduction scheme is under way in France.
Date: 30th April 2012
Location: Brozas to Membrio, western Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain
The Black Vulture is believed to be the largest true bird of prey in the world.[5] The condors which are slightly larger are now generally considered to be unrelated to the true raptors. This huge bird measures 39 to 47 inches long with a 8 to 10 feet wingspan. The body mass can range from 15 to 31 pounds making it one of the world's heaviest flying birds.
The Black Vulture is distinctly dark with the whole body being dark brown except the pale head in adults which is covered in fine down. The massive blue-grey bill is the largest of any bird of prey, a feature enhanced by the relatively small skull of the species. The wings, with serrated leading edges are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are very broad. Flight is slow and buoyant with deep, heavy flaps when necessary.
The Black Vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and Portugal with a reintroduced population in south France. They are also found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Pakistan and northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia where they breed in northern China, Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. The Black Vulture is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity.
The Black Vulture can be found in hilly and mountainous areas, especially favouring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain including steppe, grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind of mountainous habitat.
In their current European range and through the Middle East, Black Vultures can be found from 2,300 to 6,600 feet in elevation while in their Asian distribution they are typically found at higher elevations.
The Black Vulture is a largely solitary bird, being found alone or in pairs much more frequently than most other Old World vultures. At large carcasses or feeding sites, small groups of less than 10 birds may congregate.
The Black Vulture breeds in loose colonies although nests are rarely found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. It breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until August or September. The huge nest is 4½ to 6½ feet across and 3½ to 10 feet deep and increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years.
Like all vultures, the Black Vulture eats mostly carrion, ranging from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles and it is well equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bone such as ribs to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers including other large vultures such as the Griffon Vulture.
The Black Vulture has declined over most of its range in the last 200 years in part due to eating poisoned bait and also due to higher hygiene standards reducing the amount of available carrion. Trapping and hunting is also particularly prevalent in China and Russia. An even greater threat to this desolation-loving species is development and habitat destruction. The decline has been the greatest in the western half of the range with extinction in many European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Moldovia, Romania) and its entire breeding range in north west Africa (Morocco and Algeria). More recently, protection and deliberate feeding schemes have allowed some local recoveries in numbers, particularly in Spain where numbers increased to about 1,000 pairs by 1992 after an earlier decline to 200 pairs in 1970. Elsewhere in Europe, very small but increasing numbers breed in Bulgaria and Greece and a re-introduction scheme is under way in France.
Date: 30th April 2012
Location: Brozas to Membrio, western Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain
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Also in: South and west Spain - April and May 2012
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