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The Estral Republic of Aizcona.
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Fauna of Aizcona: Mendiko Sai Bizkorra (Mountain Bearded Vulture) [WIP]
Near Threatened
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Gypaetus
Species: G. Mons
The Mountain Bearded Vulture has a diet that consists of 60% bone supplemented by lizards and turtles and very small mammals. While its diet relies less on bone than its Bearded Vulture counterpart, it still fascinates scientists in how much bone the animal eats. It lives and breeds on crags in mountains throughout Argus and in surronding islands, laying two to three eggs in mid-winter that hatch at the beginning of spring. Populations are resident.
Distribution and Habitat
The Mountain Bearded Vulture is found throughout (Add in distribution) (Aizcona, Mokov, Wellsia, Aziria, Martenyika, Athara magarat, San Montagna, Mokov)
This species is almost entirely associated with mountains and inselbergs with plentiful cliffs, crags, precipices, canyons and gorges. They are often found near alpine pastures and meadows, montane grassland and heath, steep-sided, rocky wadis, high steppe and are occasional around forests. They seem to prefer desolate, lightly-populated areas where predators who provide many bones have healthy populations.
They have been found in any size mountain, even to the tallest in the (Insert Argus Mountain Range here). Interestingly with the lower elevations within Aizcona the Mountain Bearded Vulture has been found in lower Mountain ranges depending on the availability of cliffs and bluffs and places such as that.
(Explain where populations are strong and weak)
Description
This bird is 94–125 cm (37–49 in) long with a wingspan of 2.31–2.83 m (7.6–9.3 ft). It weighs 4.5–7.8 kg (9.9–17.2 lb), with the nominate race averaging 6.21 kg (13.7 lb). In (Insert Country), vultures found there tend to be slightly larger than those from other mountain ranges. Males are slightly larger than females. It is essentially unmistakable with other vultures or indeed other birds in flight due to its long, narrow wings, with the wing chord measuring 71.5–91 cm (28.1–35.8 in), and long, wedge-shaped tail, which measures 42.7–52 cm (16.8–20.5 in) in length. The tarsus is relatively small for the bird's size, at 8.8–10 cm (3.5–3.9 in). The proportions of the species have been compared to a falcon, scaled to an enormous size.
Unlike most vultures, the Mountain 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. The gait on the ground is waddling and the feet are large and powerful. The adult is mostly dark gray, rusty and whitish in color. It is grey-blue to grey-black above. These vultures are variably orange or rust of plumage on their head, breast and leg feathers but this is actually cosmetic. This colouration may come from dust-bathing, rubbing mud on its body or from drinking in mineral-rich waters. The tail feathers and wings are gray. The juvenile bird is dark black-brown over most of the body, with a buff-brown breast and takes five years to reach full maturity. The bearded vulture is silent, apart from shrill whistles in their breeding displays and a falcon-like cheek-acheek call made around the nest.
Behavior
Like other vultures it is a scavenger, feeding mostly on the remains of dead animals. It usually disdains the actual meat, however, and lives on a diet that is typically 60% bone marrow. This is one of the only living bird species that specializes in feeding on marrow. The Bearded Mountain vulture can swallow whole or bite through brittle bones up to the size of a lamb's femur and its powerful digestive system quickly dissolves even large pieces. The Bearded vulture has learned to crack bones too large to be swallowed by carrying them in flight to a height of 50–150 m (160–490 ft) above the ground and then dropping them onto rocks below, which smashes them into smaller pieces and exposes the nutritious marrow. They can fly with bones up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter and weighing over 4 kg (8.8 lb), or nearly equal to their own weight. After dropping the large bones, the vulture spirals or glides down to inspect them and may repeat the act if the bone is not sufficiently cracked. This learned skill requires extensive practice by immature birds and takes up to seven years to master.
They also have a tendency to be a complete asshole to tortoises by flying them to a height of 50–150 m (160–490 ft) and then dropping them. They've also done this to lizards and other very small animals. Although contrary to popular culture there are no documented cases of them doing this to babies or children.
Physiology
The acid concentration of the Mountain Bearded Vulture stomach has been estimated to be of pH about 1 and large bones will be digested in about 24 hours, aided by slow mixing/churning of the stomach content. The high fat content of bone marrow makes the net energy value of bone almost as good as that of muscle, even if bone is less completely digested. A skeleton left on a mountain will dehydrate and become protected from bacterial degradation and the bearded vulture can return to consume the remainder of a carcass even months after the soft parts have been consumed by other animals, larvae and bacteria.
Life History
The bearded vulture occupies an enormous territory year-around. It may forage over two square kilometers each day. The breeding period is from December through to September. Although generally solitary, the bond between a breeding pair is often considerably close. In a few cases, polyandry has been recorded in the species. The territorial and breeding display between bearded vultures is often spectacular, involving the showing of talons, tumbling and spiraling while in solo flight. The large birds also regularly lock feet with each other and fall some distance through the sky with each other. The nest is a massive pile of sticks, that goes from around 1 m (3.3 ft) across and 69 cm (27 in) deep when first constructed up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) across and 1 m (3.3 ft) deep, with a covering of various animal matter from food, after repeated uses. The female usually lays a clutch of 1 to 2 eggs, though 3 have been recorded on rare occasions, which are incubated for 53 to 60 days. After hatching the young spend 100 to 130 days in the nest before fledging. The young may be dependent on the parents for up to 2 years, forcing the parents to nest in alternate years on a regular basis. Typically, the Mountain Bearded vulture nests in caves and on ledges and rock outcrops or caves on steep rock walls, so are very difficult for nest-predating mammals to access. Wild Vultures have a mean lifespan of 24.4 years, but have been observed to live for up to at least 45 years in captivity.
