Cinereous Vulture(Aegypius monachus)
The cinereous vulture measures 98–120 cm in total length with a 2.5–3.1 m wingspan. Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg, whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to 14 kg. It is one of the world's heaviest flying birds. They are one of the largest Old World vultures. The cinereous vulture is distinctly dark, with the whole body being brown excepting the pale head in adults, which is covered in fine blackish down. The skin of the head and neck is bluish-grey and a paler whitish color above the eye.
The adult has brown eyes, a purplish cere, a blue-gray bill and pale blue-gray legs. The primary quills are often actually black. From a distance, flying birds can easily appear all black. The immature plumage is sepia-brown above, with a much paler underside than in adults. Immature cinereous vultures have grey down on the head, a pale mauve cere and grey legs. The exposed culmen of the cinereous vulture measures 8–9 cm. The wings, with serrated leading edges, are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are broad, sometimes referred to as "barn door wings". Their flight is slow and buoyant, with deep, heavy flaps when necessary.
Habitat
The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and inland Portugal, with a reintroduced population in south France. They are found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Afghanistan eastwards to northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia, where they breed in northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea.
Their range is fragmented especially throughout their European range. It is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity. In the eastern limits of its range, birds from the northernmost reaches may migrate down to southern Korea and China. A limited migration has also been reported in the Middle East but is not common. This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas, especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes over much of the range. Nesting usually occurs near the tree line in the mountains. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain, including steppe, grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind of mountainous habitat. In their current European range and through the Caucasus and Middle East, cinereous vultures are found from 100-2,000 m in elevation, while in their Asian distribution, they are typically found at higher elevations. Two habitat types were found to be preferred by the species in China and Tibet. Some cinereous vultures in these areas live in mountainous forests and shrubland from 800-3,800 m, while the others preferred arid or semi-arid alpine meadows and grasslands at 3,800-4,500 m in elevation. This species can fly at a very high altitude. Juvenile and immature cinereous vultures, especially those in the northern stretches of the species range, may move large distances across undeveloped open-dry habitats in response to snowfall or high summer temperatures.
Diet
Like all vultures, the cinereous vulture eats mostly carrion. The cinereous vulture feeds on carrion of almost any type, from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles. In Tibet, commonly eaten carcasses can include both wild and domestic yaks, Bharal, Tibetan gazelles, kiangs, woolly hares, Himalayan marmots, domestic sheep, and even humans, mainly those at their celestial burial grounds. Reportedly in Mongolia, Tarbagan marmots comprised the largest part of the diet, although that species is now endangered as it is preferred in the diet of local people, wild prey ranging from corsac fox to Argali may be eaten additionally in Mongolia. Unusually, a large amount of plant material was found in pellets from Turkey, especially pine cones. Among the vultures in its range, the cinereous is best equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bones, such as ribs, to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers in its range, even over other large vultures such as Gyps vultures, bearded vultures or fierce ground predators such as foxes. Cinereous vultures frequently bully and dominate steppe eagles when the two species are attracted to the same prey and carrion while wintering in Asia.
Breeding
In Europe, the cinereous vulture return to the nesting ground in January or February. In Spain and Algeria, they start nesting in February in March, in Crimea in early March, in northwestern India in February or April, in northeastern India in January, and in Turkestan in January. They breed in loose colonies, with nests rarely being found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. In Spain, nests have been found from 300 m to 2 km apart from each other. The cinereous vulture breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until September or October. The most common display consists of synchronous flight movements by pairs. However, flight play between pairs and juveniles is not unusual, with the large birds interlocking talons and spiraling down through the sky. The birds use sticks and twigs as building materials, and males and females cooperate in all matters of rearing the young. The huge nest is 1.45–2 m across and 1–3 m deep. The nest increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years and often comes to be decorated with dung and animal skins. The nests can range up to 1.5-12 m high in a large tree such as an oak, juniper, wild pear, almond or pine trees. Most nesting trees are found along cliffs. In a few cases, cinereous vultures have been recorded as nesting directly on cliffs. One cliff nest completely filled a ledge that was 3.63 m wide and 2.5 m in depth. The egg clutch typically only a single egg, though two may be exceptionally laid. The eggs have a white or pale buff base color are often overlaid with red, purplish or red-brown marks, being almost as spotted as the egg of a falcon. Eggs measure from 83.4-104 mm in height and 58 to 75 mm (2.3 to 3.0 in) in width, with an average of 90 mm × 69.7 mm. The incubation period can range from 50 to 62 days, averaging 50–56 days. Normally hatching occurs in April or May in Europe. The newly hatched young are semi-altricial. The young are covered in greyish-white to grey-brown colored down which becomes paler with age. The first flight feathers start growing from the same sockets as the down when the nestling is around 30 days old and completely cover the down by 60 days of age. The parents feed the young by regurgitation and an active nest reportedly becomes very foul and stinking.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Near Threatened(NT). Its global population is estimated to number 7,800-10,500 pairs, roughly equating to 15,600-21,000 mature individuals. This consists of 2,300-2,500 pairs in Europe and 5,500-8,000 pairs in Asia. The population in Korea has been estimated at c.50-10,000 wintering individuals. The estimate roughly equates to 23,400-31,500 individuals. Although the European population is increasing, the much larger Asian population appears to be in decline. Overall, a slow to moderate and on-going decline is suspected.
Threats
The two main threats to the species are direct mortality caused by humans (either accidentally or deliberately) and decreasing availability of food. The main cause of unnatural death is the use of poisoned baits for predator extermination, although shooting and destruction of nests also occurs, and they may accidentally get caught in traps set for other predators. Shooting and poisoning are increasing in Mongolia, and many birds are trapped or shot in China for their feathers. There are fears that veterinary application of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac, which has caused the near-extinction of several vultures in India, may have a negative impact, particularly as increasing numbers of the species are wintering in northern India. A study in central Spain during 2003-2005 found high concentrations of antibiotics in blood samples from 57% of nestlings tested. The same study found two antibiotics in the liver samples of all dead nestlings that were tested. It is hypothesised that antibiotic residues, particularly quinolones, cause liver and kidney damage, deplete lymphoid organs and alter bacteria flora, facilitating pathogenic bacterial and fungal infections. In Europe, decreased food availability was formerly caused by European Union legislation on carcass disposal, however, recently passed regulations will allow the operation of feeding stations for scavengers. In eastern Europe and central Asia, particularly in the former Soviet Union, changes in agricultural practices and human migration from the countryside to the cities have greatly reduced numbers of domestic livestock. In Georgia and Armenia, declines may be linked to the loss of subsidies for sheep-herding in the post-Soviet era. Additionally, there have been steep declines in many populations of wild ungulates which provide a major food source for the species. The Saiga antelope, for example, numbered over one million individuals ten years ago, and has now been reduced to a population of 30,000-40,000 owing to uncontrolled hunting and severe winters. In South Korea, food limitation is a serious problem such that the species relies on supplementary food. Habitat loss is also thought to be important. For instance, in Portugal, there may be suitable foraging areas, but nesting sites are limited. The majority of brood losses occur during the incubation period and it is suspected this may be partially due to low and fluctuating temperatures and so changes in air temperatures resulting from climate change may be a potential future threat to the species. Nest abandonment can also occur as a result of disturbance, for instance cork exploitation.
Conservation
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. EU Birds Directive Annex I. A Multi-species Action Plan for African-Eurasian Vultures has been produced. The EU Birds Directive has contributed to the recovery and conservation of the species in Europe, particularly Spain, where the population has increased from an estimated 290 pairs in 1984 to 2,068 pairs in 2011. Co-operation between Spanish government agencies and conservationists under the 'Antidote Programme' also appears to have been effective in mitigating the effects of poisoned baits. Both the Spanish and the Andalusian Governments have produced anti-poisoning strategies, but the former still remain to be financially supported while the latter need more decisive official endorsement. A reintroduction project in Grands Causses, southern France has resulted in the establishment of a small breeding population (16 pairs were breeding in 2006) with good prospects. Supplementary feeding programmes have been initiated in Spain and France to provide a safe, poison-free food source, although there are concerns that the species may be not very prone to feed at conventional feeding stations. Captive breeding populations have also been established. In the Balkans, the species has only one stable colony in the Dadia forest reserve in northern Greece, where WWF has long been involved. Supplementary food is also provided in Bulgaria for breeding birds and South Korea during the winter, which may be the factor attracting birds from Mongolia. In eastern Europe and central Asia, fewer conservation actions are known, although the species occurs within a number of protected areas in the region. The Balkan Vulture Action Plan aims to transfer expertise and technology relating to the conservation of the species from western to eastern parts of Europe. In Nepal in 2006, a ban was introduced on the production and importation of diclofenac for veterinary use and pharmaceutical firms were encouraged to promote a safe alternative called meloxicam. The use of diclofenac has since declined by 90% across parts of Nepal; however its complete elimination from the scavenger food chain has yet to be achieved. The Government of Nepal endorsed the first Vulture Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2009-13), and a second was launched in 2015. Approaches include: advocating additional bans on NSAIDs; continual education programmes; continual monitoring of NSAID use; swapping diclofenac with meloxicam; collection of veterinarian pledges to stop using diclofenac; operation, maintenance and expansion of vulture-safe feeding sites. Diclofenac-free Zones have been created in 46 Districts covering a total area of 101,160 km2 of Nepal.
Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey to determine the species's status and population trends on breeding grounds outside Europe and on wintering grounds. Research threats, particularly the decline in abundance of prey species. Carry out reintroductions to link up the western and the eastern sub-areas of the present range, following the recommendations of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation; possibly focussing on releasing immature individuals rather than juveniles because they can breed earlier and so lead to faster settlement and breeding in the wild. Develop the captive breeding programme to support both this and future reintroduction and supplementation efforts. Restore wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus populations in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Spain) as this may help to increase food availability, particularly during the breeding period. Promote cooperation and information exchange among people working on the species, both at a national and international level. Remove drugs like diclofenac and other harmful NSAIDs from the environment and control the illicit use of human diclofenac for veterinary purpose. Strengthen and enforce legislation regulating trade in pesticides that are used to poison meat baits. Increase the rate of prosecution and the severity of judicial sentences for illegal poisoning. Protect appropriate breeding habitat.