The Eurasian griffon vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole.
Region
Southern Europe, North Africa, and West–Central Asia
Typical Environment
Found around Mediterranean uplands, the Balkans, Turkey, the Caucasus, the Maghreb, and east through the Middle East into Central Asia. It favors open mountains, plateaus, and steppe with nearby cliffs for roosting and nesting. The species avoids dense forests and urban cores but readily ranges over agricultural and pastoral landscapes where livestock are present. It relies on strong updrafts and thermals and often concentrates along ridgelines and escarpments.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 3000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This large Old World vulture soars for hours on thermals with minimal wingbeats, scanning vast areas for carcasses. It is highly social, often feeding in noisy groups and nesting in loose colonies on cliffs. By rapidly removing carrion, it provides a vital sanitation service that limits disease spread. Major threats include poisoning from contaminated baits and lead, though many European populations are currently rebounding.
Gyps fulvus (portrait)
Eurasian griffon vulture in Catalonia
Griffon vulture beside a white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), showing the difference in size and coloration between the two species
Griffon vulture beside a cinereous vulture
Egg
Two Griffion vultures fighting in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Griffon vulture in flight
Temperament
social and gregarious
Flight Pattern
soaring glider
Social Behavior
Breeds colonially on cliff ledges, where pairs form long-term bonds and typically lay a single egg. Both parents share incubation and chick-rearing. Away from nests, birds roost communally and gather in large numbers at carcasses, where a strict pecking order is evident.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Generally silent in flight. At nests and feeding sites it emits hisses, grunts, and rasping croaks, especially during disputes over food.
Plumage
Sandy-buff body with darker chocolate-brown flight feathers and tail; pale head and neck with a fluffy white ruff. Juveniles are browner overall with less distinct contrast.
Diet
Obligate scavenger feeding primarily on the carcasses of large ungulates such as sheep, goats, cattle, deer, and wild boar. It tears flesh with its powerful bill but typically avoids bones and hides, leaving those to other scavengers. Keen eyesight and social cues from other vultures help it locate carrion over great distances. It may also visit managed feeding stations in some regions.
Preferred Environment
Forages over open country, grasslands, steppe, and montane plateaus where thermals are strong. Often associated with extensive pastoral systems and rugged landscapes with cliffs for roosting.
