Read on Twitter
thread of fun facts about the bearded vulture because ive loved them since i was like 10 and i dont have anything better to do :)
their diet is 80-90% bones and bone marrow!!!! they find picked-over carcasses and drop the bones from 160-490ft to shatter it into swallowable pieces. they even typically have a favorite bone-breaking spot called an ossuary!! they also eat small lizards and turtles :)
their stomach acid has a pH of less than 1, which if u dont know. thats very acidic. they can digest bones in under 24 hours.
their other name is Lammergeier which means "lamb-vulture" in german. its called this because it has a (false) reputation of carrying away lambs, calves, and even children!!! theres no confirmed cases of one ever killing a human though
they have a wingspan of 7.6–9.3ft (2.31–2.83m) and they sometimes use it to batter large animals off cliffs. they also give great hugs
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">
" title="they have a wingspan of 7.6–9.3ft (2.31–2.83m) and they sometimes use it to batter large animals off cliffs. they also give great hugshttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
they preen soil stained with iron oxide into their feathers to give them their red hue. its assumed to be a status symbol and usually the biggest and oldest vultures have the brightest colors!! this is obviously a beta vulture, his name is craig
bearded vultures are monogamous and mate once a year, usually laying no more than 3 eggs. sometimes though, bachelor vultures will join an already existing couple and create a polyamorous relationship!! move over i love yall
they can grow up to 4 feet tall and weigh about 10-15 pounds!!!!!!! big birds!!!!!!
the average lifespan of a wild vulture is about 21 years, but in captivity they can live to be up to 45!!!!!!!! grandpa vulture tell us about the war
theres a story that the greek playwright aeschylus had gotten a prophecy to watch out for falling objects and he was killed when a bearded vulture mistook his shiny bald head for a rock and dropped a turtle on it, killing him instantly <3
theres probably more fun facts but this is all i know !!! they r very cool and i love them
