BEARDED VULTURE (Lammergeyer)  
Gypaetus barbatus

uKhozilwentshebe (Zulu) Baardaasvoel (Afrikaans) 
 

HABITAT
Found in the high Drakensberg mountains of KwaZulu-Natal.

TYPE
A very large bird with long pointed wings and a diamond shaped tail when seen in flight. It is dark above with a whitish head and a black face mask and a bristly beard. Underneath it is whitish or yellowish and can be quite rufus in older birds. The eyes are pale yellow ringed with red, the bill is brownish and the the legs and feet slate grey. Usually seen as a solitary bird but several can gather at carrion with other birds of prey.

FOOD
It feeds on carrion and bones. Large bones are dropped on a favourite rock called an ossuarie to shatter them into pieces small enough to swallow.

BREEDING
They nest between May and June building a large 2 metre platform of sticks on a ledge usually under an overhang. The central hollow is lined with grass, skin, bones and hair. One or two broad, white oval eggs are laid which become stained brown, buff and yellowish during the incubation.

STATUS
This is a rare and endangered species with only 200 pairs in the whole of Africa. Listed as RARE in the Red Data Book.