#bearded vultures

[cathartidae]

ALL DONE!! progress pics + ref under cut

big fans of these guys

[mjrtaurus]

Considering changing Dragon’s amaru eyes from the solid gold with a vertical slit pupil to straight up bearded vulture eyes

The red is called a scleral ring and bearded vultures use them for intimidation by forcing more blood flow into them so that the red becomes more vivid and scary looking. Peak “back the fuck off” physiology.

[antiqueanimals]

Maternal Courage. From the Life and Habits of Wild Animals. Illustrated by designs by Joseph Wolf. Engraved by J. W. and Edward Whymper. 1874.

Internet Archive

[addaxus]

I drew this bearded vulture while me and my partner were discussing western related stuff. Unfortunately these guys are spread across Europe, East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Tibet, and Caucasus.

[thee-radio-host-is-a-kookaburra]

look at this bullshit

literally the first thing that you find when googling lammergeiers is the fact that they are scavengers, and live solely on bone. I usually wouldn’t get this mad abt some clickbait but i will defend bearded vultures with my life. Make fun of this guy

[rain-shoshana]

This post is late but I’ve decided I want to start doing monthly art recaps again so here y’all go! Some things I drew in March!

[crypt1dvan1shed]

BORB

Me when I gryphon-ify my oc for absolutely no reason (bearded vulture??osprey??bobcat??smilodon?? Idk).

don’t ask me why the 2 images r sideways, idk

[dr-dendritic-trees]

I should go to bed, but instead I'm sitting here, laughing my ass off, because when I started writing The Thing With Feathers, I hadn't done my research yet, and I really thought that vultures were all pretty much turkey vulture sized...

BUT SURPRISE!!!

A turkey vulture is about 2.3 feet tall, has a wingspan of about 5.5 feet and weighs about 3 pounds.

A bearded vulture is about 3.5 feet tall, has a wingspan of about 8 feet and weighs about 13 pounds. A size I did not know birds of prey could be.

[the-rat-k-ing]

here are some pictures from i saw sofia (the only bearded vulture in the western hemisphere) last year

we saw her being fed some bone and it was great

[f1zzlest1ckzz]

did you guys know bearded vultures are the only birds in the world whos diet primarily consists of bones ...... i didnt know that ...

[talibri]

Three cool looking species of raptors:

The Harpy Eagle, the Bateleur Eagle and the Bearded Vulture 🦅

Those are some cool looking birds if i say so myself.

[wanukilppari]

I visited my country's biggest zoo (Korkeasaari) and there was this nice info board about bearded vultures and how the zoo is part of Europe wide Vulture Conversation Project program to increase their numbers in the wild.

And do you know how the zoo does this?

By taking the the chicks the vulture couple in the zoo has and sending them to centers around the alps or pyrenees etc. so they can be set free.

Based on the Korkeasaare's website, 40 zoos all around the Europe are part of this VCP program. In 2024 these zoos had in total 44 bearded vulture chicks, 25 of which will be returned to their natural habitats. The rest are kept to ensure that the zoo population won't become too inbread and so the program can continue through the future generations.

Note; we are talking about birds that dissapeared from the Alps in early 1900s. The VCP started releasing bearded vultures born in zoos there since 1986 and today the estimated population size in the Alps is over 300 birds.

All of which are, or descend from, birds born in zoos.

Bonus: Korkeasaari has made a video about one of the chicks released in Corsica. It is in Finnish but you can turn on the English subs.

(Fun fact: the Sulana's original Finnish name Otus translates as "a creature")

6 zoo myths that arent true

[moth-in-retrograde]

Some designs for mutative supers' forms. Mutative shifters are typically known for having permanent half forms, like they got "stuck" halfway through a transformation. However, if they manage to continue the shifting process through a situation similar to what activated their power in the first place, they can get a full form!

Unlike typical shifters, mutative shifters maintain their original mutated form as a "base" (whereas most others maintain a human "base" form), and their animal form is off in some way or another.

For these two, Honey (the bee) is much larger than the average honeybee, with brown eyes. Wren (the lammergeier) has some unusual coloring.

[renumuro]

[jaed1nzmogies]

for a niche audience

[nevershootamockingbird]

[ ID taken from Alt Text: a photo of a bearded vulture standing in a puddle of rufous brown mud. its underside is entirely slathered with the stuff. the vulture is looking at the viewer with an expression I can only describe as unbothered mischievous satisfaction. / End ID ]

Bearded vultures will see an iron oxide rich mud puddle and go 'is anyone going to bathe in that' and not wait for an answer