6

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) Alternate name(s): "Eurasian Griffon" German name(s): "Gänsegeier" Size: 0.9-1.2 m; wing span 2.3-2.8 m Body mass: 6.2-10 kg (male); 6.5-11 kg (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.69-0.77

Europe: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Lammergeier Eurasian Black Vulture Griffon Vulture Rueppell's Vulture Egyptian Vulture Osprey White-tailed Eagle Golden Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Short-toed Snake Eagle Bonelli's Eagle Booted Eagle Greater Spotted Eagle Red Kite Black Kite European Honey Buzzard Common Buzzard Rough-legged Buzzard Long-legged Buzzard Western Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Montagu's Harrier Pallid Harrier Black-winged Kite Eurasian Goshawk Eurasian Sparrowhawk Gyrfalcon Lanner Falcon Peregrine Falcon Common Kestrel Lesser Kestrel Red-footed Falcon Merlin Eurasian Hobby Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Griffon Vultures are large vultures. The underparts are brown, with a white head and frilled neck. Also the underwing coverts are brown, with lighter brown bars, while the flight feathers are dark-grey. The upperparts, including the coverts of the upperwings, are buff-brown. The flight feathers are dark-grey, as on the underside. Also the short, often fanned, tail is dark-grey. Juveniles have more brownish colours, neater flight feathers and longer primary "fingers" than adults. Adult plumage is attained over 5-6 years and there are various intermediate stages of immature plumages. Seen against harsh sunlight from below at a great distance, Griffon Vultures can appear to be all-dark on the underside, with a white head and neck sticking out, often downwards.

Taxonomy, classification See Griffon Vulture at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Griffon Vulture is available HERE . Griffon Vultures are a partly sedentary, partly migratory species. There are at least two recognized extant races. Nominate race "fulvus" has a range extending from Iberia via the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and the Middle East into parts of Arabia (on both sides of the Red Sea) and into south-western and southern Asia. Race "fulvescens" is found in north-western India and parts of the Himalayas. In Europe Griffon Vultures are mostly sedentary. Their range included much of Iberia (except the far West of the peninsula), some sites in southern France and large parts of the Balkans, plus Sardinia and Crete. Griffon Vultures have a strong preference for hilly or mountainous terrain, including relatively flat highlands such as central Spain, where they search for carrion mostly in relatively open terrain, such as grassland, steppe or sparsely vegetated mountain/hill slopes, often in semi-arid to arid landscapes.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "fulvus" J. Pires reports that there is a breeding colony of Griffon Vultures, nominate race "fulvus", at Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, where they remain during the breeding season. At the time of dispersal they head into the surrounding areas and thereby can occasionally be found e.g. around Mora, Evora, Portugal. M. Ehle reports finding two Griffon Vultures, race "fulvus", near Valdemaqueda, Sierra Oeste de Madrid, Spain, in March 2019. M. Eaton reports finding Griffon Vultures, race "fulvus", near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. J. Pires found Griffon Vultures, race "fulvus", at Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, in December 2019. A breeding colony was found at Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, in April 2023. The vultures were again found nesting there in April 2024. G. Normand reports spotting Griffon Vultures, race "fulvus", at the Col d'Orgambidesca, Pyrenees, France, in September 2020.

Photos

Race "fulvus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Griffon Vulture perched on a rock ledge (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Frontal/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture perched on a rock ledge (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture looking backwards (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2024]

Griffon Vultures perched on a rock ledge (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Griffon Vultures perched on a rock ledge (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Griffon Vultures perched in a tree (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Close-up frontal/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2023]

Frontal/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2023]

Near-frontal view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Frontal/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Near-frontal/ventral view of Griffon Vultures in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, March 2016]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Col d'Orgambidesca, Pyrenees, France, September 2020]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, March 2016]

Ventral view of a Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, December 2019]

Dorsal view from above onto Griffon Vultures in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, May 2018]

Distant view of one of two Griffon Vultures soaring high above a hill ridge (photo courtesy of M. Ehle)
[Near Valdemaqueda, Sierra Oeste de Madrid, Spain, March 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture - the tip of the bill is lighter-coloured than the base and the face; the collar is light too, but the rest of the plumage is still darker and more brownish than an adult's (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-frontal view of an immature Griffon Vulture (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-frontal/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-frontal/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Lateral view of an immature Griffon Vulture; note the dark bill, but greyish plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Adult Griffon Vulture, right, and 3 juveniles perched on a rock ledge (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, March 2016]

Lateral view of an immature Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Close-up lateral/ventral portrait of an immature Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of an immature Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Griffon Vulture; note the dark bill and brownish wing coverts (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Lateral view of an juvenile Griffon Vulture in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Serra de Sao Mamede, Portalegre, Alentejo, Portugal, February 2025]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jan - Aug

Eggs: 1

Incubation period: 52 - 60 days

Fledging age: 107 - 127 days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks, moss, lichen

Height above ground: N/A

Nests are high above the surrounding landscape, but - being placed on rock ledges - they are, locally, at ground level. Note that nests are, as best possible, built in the shade because the development of the chicks takes 5 months to fledging. Even if egg-laying occurs as early as January, chicks won't fledge before June. If egg-laying occurs later, the late phase of the chicks' development will reach well into the heat of central Spain's summer, with temperatures in the valleys routinely reaching 40 C and above.

Lateral view of a Griffon Vulture at its nest with chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2024]

Lateral view of a Griffon Vulture at its nest with chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2023]

(Near-)dorsal view of a pair of Griffon Vultures at their nest with chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2024]

Dorsal view of a pair of Griffon Vultures at their nest with chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2024]

Small mob of Griffon Vultures resting near their nest colony (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monfrague, Salto del Gitano, Caceres, Spain, April 2023]

Eggs

Size: 93 x 70 mm

Colour: Creamy-white

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Small flock

Food, Diet

Immature Griffon Vulture trying to get into the carcass of a steer through the soft parts (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Immature Griffon Vulture with a bloodied head after feeding on a carcass (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Immature Griffon Vulture sitting on the carcass of a steer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Immature Griffon Vultures with bloodied heads after feeding on a carcass (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Immature Griffon Vultures with bloodied heads after feeding on a carcass (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Carcass of a sheep left behind by a mob of Griffon Vultures and Eurasian Black Vultures (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, August 2013]

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