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The Lammergeier is also known as the Bearded Vulture. Its latin name is Gypaetus barbatus. The bird belongs to the vultures, but has much more the appearance of an eagle than a vulture, the neck being clothed with feathers, instead of being naked or only covered with down.
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It may at once be identified by the tuft of long, hair-like feathers which comes down from from the beak, and which has gained for the bird its title of Bearded Vulture. The colour of the plumage is a mixture of different browns and greys, tawny below and beautifully pencilled above, a line of pure white running along the middle of each feather. The feet are feathered down to the toes. When young it is nearly black, and indeed has been, treated as a separate species under the name of Black Vulture
It is one of the largest of the flying birds, its length often exceeding four feet, and the expanse of its wings being sometimes more than ten feet. In consequence of this great wingspan, it looks when flying like a much larger bird than it really is, and its size has often been variously misstated. Its flight, as may be imagined from the possession of such wings, is equally grand and graceful, and it sweeps through the air with great force, apparently unaccompanied by effort.
The Lammergeier extends through a very large range of country, and is found throughout many parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. It never congregates in large numbers, like ordinary vultures, but lives in pairs, and is fond of living in ravines. The nest of the Lammergeier is made of sticks and sods, and is of enormous dimensions. It is almost always placed upon a lofty cliff and contains enough sticks to fit in the back of a small truck. These are rudely interwoven, and support a nearly equal amount of sods and moss.
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