Bearded Vulture/Lammergeier

Description:

Large, brown bird of prey with vast wingspan.

Habitat:

Southern Europe, the Caucasus, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, and Tibet. Spotted this one in Dolomites at approx. 3,000 m, although they are typically found around or above the tree line which are often near the tops of the mountains, at up to 2,000 m in Europe.

Notes:

It is one of the largest bird of prey besides Golden eagle in South Tirol and has a wingspan of up to 2.83 m. Seeing it in flight was very majestical sight to see. While circling the wings are spread wide. It feeds on remains of dead animals and is the only living bird species that specializes in feeding on marrow. They are often found near alpine pastures and meadows, montane grassland and heath, steep-sided, rocky wadis, high steppe and are occasional around forests. They seem to prefer desolate, lightly-populated areas where predators who provide many bones, such as wolves and Golden eagles. They have healthy populations. I was actually so amazed when i saw this bird that i almost forgot to take a picture of it. When it flew all the way up in the sky it started flying like 200m away from us, so I've seen it really upclose- it is really huge and magnificent bird!!