Cinereous Vulture

Aegypius monachus

Family: Kites, Old World Vultures, Eagles, and Hawks · Status: Vagrant · Size: 100–120 cm · Conservation: Near Threatened

Range

Breeds across the Himalayas to Mongolia and northeastern China, with a disjunct population towards France. Winters mainly in northern India and the Middle East, with small numbers in Korea and northeast and northwest Africa. Juvenile and immature birds are the main migrants; vagrants occasionally reach Southeast Asia.

Identification

Large, uniformly dark brown vulture with a hefty bill and wedge-shaped tail. Adult has pale grey-brown crown with dark brown face and dark grey bill. Juvenile plumage is darker, almost black, with a dark bare-skin face mask and pink cere that gradually turns blue-grey with age. In flight, uniformly dark brown with very long, broad rectangular wings, a small protruding head, and a short wedge-shaped tail.

Habitat

Hill and mountain forests, scrub, meadows, and grasslands.

Behaviour

Feeds on carrion, foraging solitarily by soaring and gliding over wide areas; locates food largely by vision.