Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), lammergeier , lammergeyer,ossifrage, दाढ़ी वाला गिद्ध,जटायु गिद्ध ,अरगुल

Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), lammergeier (or lammergeyer)or ossifrage, 

हिन्दी नाम-जटायु गिद्ध , अरगुल(हिमाचल प्रदेश)

दाढ़ी वाला गिद्ध

Tungnath

Chopta

Rudraprayag

Uttarakhand

April2019

Nikon Gears

(Record shot)

This is a bird of prey and the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), its closest living relative. It is not much more closely related to the Old World vultures proper than to, for example, hawks, and differs from the former by its feathered neck. Although dissimilar, the Egyptian and bearded vulture each have a lozenge-shaped tail—unusual among birds of prey.

The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists almost exclusively (70 to 90 percent) of bone.It lives and breeds on crags in high mountains in southern Europe, the Caucasus,Africa,the Indian subcontinent, and Tibet, laying one or two eggs in mid-winter that hatch at the beginning of spring. Populations are residents.

Unlike most vultures, the bearded vulture does not have a bald head. This species is relatively small headed, although its neck is powerful and thick. It has a generally elongated, slender shape, sometimes appearing bulkier due to the often hunched back of these birds.