Griffon Vulture

The Griffon Vulture is a large Old World vulture with a heavy, robust build, broad wings, and a short tail well suited to soaring flight. Its plumage is overall pale sandy-brown to buff, with darker, contrasting blackish flight feathers and tail visible in flight.

The head and long neck are covered in white down rather than feathers, an adaptation for hygienically feeding deep inside carcasses, and it has a distinctive pale ruff of longer feathers around the base of the neck. The bill is stout and pale-colored. Juveniles are darker and more streaked than adults, with a browner ruff, gradually paling with age.

Key field marks

• Very large, bulky vulture with broad, "barn-door" wings and a short tail
• Overall sandy-buff body contrasting with blackish flight feathers and tail
• Bare, whitish downy head and neck with a pale feathered ruff at the base
• Often seen soaring in large flocks or loose groups over open terrain

Similar species

• Cinereous (Black) Vulture: darker overall, blackish-brown plumage, larger and heavier bill, dark ruff
• Egyptian Vulture: much smaller, white body with black flight feathers and a wedge-shaped tail, yellow bare face
• Rüppell's Vulture: similar shape but darker, scaly-patterned plumage with pale feather edges

Range

Breeds across southern Europe (notably Spain, the Balkans, and parts of France and Italy), North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central and South Asia.

Habitat

Associated with mountainous and rocky terrain with cliffs for nesting, adjacent to open plains, grassland, or pasture where it forages over wide areas for carcasses.

Migration

Mostly resident or partially migratory; some populations, especially juveniles and those from northern parts of the range, disperse or migrate seasonally, with regular movements recorded across the Strait of Gibraltar and Bosphorus.

Feeding

A highly social scavenger, often gathering in large numbers at carcasses, using keen eyesight and the behavior of other vultures to locate food; can travel long distances daily while soaring in search of carrion.

Voice

Mostly silent away from the nest or carcasses, where it produces hissing, growling, and cackling sounds during feeding disputes.

Flight

An efficient soarer, using thermals and updrafts to travel with minimal energy expenditure, often in loose flocks.

Nesting

Breeds colonially on cliff ledges, building a stick nest and typically laying a single egg. Colonies can include dozens to hundreds of pairs at favorable sites.