The bearded vulture, or Gypaetus barbatus, also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a large bird that weighs up to 5.7 kg with a wing span that can reach 2.8 m. Unlike other vultures, the bearded vulture does not have a bald head. Adults are mostly dark-gray with a cream-coloured forehead and a black band across the eyes. Bristles under its chin form a black beard which gives this species its name. Its tail feathers and wings are gray.
What makes this bird unique is that it is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70 to 90 per cent bone! Its stomach has a high acid concentration, with a pH of about 1. This enables it to digest hard bones by a process of churning the stomach content. It waits for a carcass to be picked clean by other animals and then returns to eat the bones that are left behind. It has a unique way of eating large bones. It carries it to a great height and drops it on rocks below to break it. It is even known to use its bill to hammer bones on rocks till they break, hence the name ossifrage which means ‘bone breaker’. It builds a nest from a massive pile of sticks in a cave or a ledge on a cliff.
It is found in southern Europe, the Caucasus, Africa, and India. It has been listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List, owing to its rapid population decline in recent years due to human encroachment and persecution.
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