Bearded Vulture

Other names
Lammergeier

Description
Huge and long-winged. In strong light, when upperparts look pale and merge with mountainside, often best spotted by dark shadowing moving over the ground.

Adult: underbelly light, whitish with a varying degree of buffish-yellow or often rather deep rufous-buff tinge (acquired through sand-bathing!), contrasting with its dark underwing. In good light, lesser and median under-wing-coverts are darkest, being jet-black. Upperparts are lead-grey with pale feather shafts.

Juvenile: Body is dull grey with contrasting dark grey head, neck and upper breast (like that of a Hooded Crow). Upperparts are not uniformly dark with lighter shafts (as on the adult birds) but are variegated; mantle, rump and some wing-coverts light.

Immature: Adult pattern is attained in about five years, subadults keeping the dark head rather long.