| Black Vulture |
| Wild Mallorca |
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This bird is an Old World vulture, and is only distantly related to the New World vultures, which are in a separate family, Cathartidae, of the order Ciconiiformes. It is therefore not directly related to the American Black Vulture despite the similar name and coloration. It breeds across southern Europe and Asia from Spain to Korea, but is endangered throughout its European range. It is resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited movement.The Cinereous Vulture is perhaps the largest birds of prey in the world, though nearly equalled by the Himalayan Griffon Vulture. The Andean Condor, slightly larger, is now generally considered unrelated to the true Falconiformes. This huge bird is 98–120 cm (39-47 in) long with a 250–300 cm (99-119 in) wingspan and a weight of 7–14 kg (15.5-31 lbs), and is thus one of the world's heaviest flying birds.It breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. It has all dark blackish-brown plumage, and even at a distance can be distinguished from the Griffon Vulture by its evenly broad "barn door" wings. It has the typical vulture unfeathered bald head (actually covered in fine down), and dark markings around the eye give it a menacing skull-like appearance. The beak is brown, with a blue-grey cere, and the legs and feet are grey. Around the Sierra de Tramuntana (Tramuntana mountain range) it is not unusual to see one or two gliding slowly at a great height, with wings fully extended or a little retracted if flying into the wind. Although they fly alone or in pairs they always gather in groups when hunting for food. The black vulture, because of the weight and length of its wings, cannot flap its wings for very long and therefore uses the rising currents of hot air to soar to an incredibly high altitude. It can fly at a t very high altitude as it has a specialised haemoglobin alpha subunit of high oxygen affinity which makes it possible to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.Mallorca is the only island in Europe on which the black vulture lives. It was on the verge of disappearing in the 1970's but fortunately the latest records confirm a slow and fragile, but also successful recovery. It also lives in the wooded mountains in the south-east of Europe and in certain parts of the Iberian Peninsular. This huge bird requires around 700grams of meat per day. It normally consumes up to four times this amount in order to either feed its young or build up reserves for those days when it cannot fly: foggy, rainy days or in low temperatures as it cannot rise without the warm currents. |
The Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) is also known as the Black Vulture, Monk Vulture, or Eurasian Black Vulture. It is a member of the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.