Cinereous Vulture
The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 3.1 m (10 ft) across the wings and a maximum weight of 14 kg (31 lb), it is the largest Old World vulture and largest member of the Accipitridae family.
The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits
of its range are in Spain and inland Portugal, with a
reintroduced population in south France. They are found discontinuously
to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East.
Their range continues through Afghanistan eastwards to northern India to
its eastern limits in central Asia, where they breed in northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea.
Their range is fragmented especially throughout their European range. It 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. In the eastern limits of its range, birds from the northernmost
reaches may migrate down to southern Korea and China. A limited migration has
also been reported in the Middle East but is not common.
This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas,
especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at
high altitudes over much of the range. Nesting usually occurs near the tree
line in the mountains.
IUCN Status: Near Threatened
Comments