Gyps fulvus - Griffon Vulture
Feather characters. Barbules are very long (2.1-2.4 mm) and filamentous without any pigmented parts. Borders between cells are visible, but hardly swollen and thus too small to qualify as nodes. These nodal structures (10-11 per mm) have about the same size along the entire length of the barbules, only slightly decreasing towards the tip. Villi are absent and internodes are straight. Prongs are unequally distributed along the entire length of barbules and on both sides of the pennulum. Their length varies; proximal prongs are longest, and these can reach a length between 0.01 mm and half the length of the adjacent internode.
Field characters. Length 95-105 cm; wingspan 255-280 cm. Weight 7436 g (6200-8500) (Dunning, 1993). Large vulture with very long, broad wings with well-spread primaries, very short, dark tail, small head, and underwings with pale bars across inner wing. Pale buff plumage contrasts with brown-black flight feathers and tail; head and neck covered with down; broad ruff at base of neck dull white. Juvenile darker brown with brown ruff; underwing-coverts paler. Soars on wings held in a shallow V.
Voice. Silent in flight; grunts and hisses in company.
Distribution. Fairly common in Spain and Portugal; elsewhere more local and scarce resident. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. Requires mountains or high cliffs for breeding and roosting; forages over large areas in mountainous terrain, deserts, or other dry terrain.
Food. Feeds almost exclusively on carrion, taken fresh or putrid, taking mainly soft tissues of medium to large mammals: domestic cow, horse, donkey, goat, sheep, deer, fox.