Lammergeier

LAMMERGEIER s. Ornit. Bird of prey or raptor, intermediate between vulture and falcon. The main species is the Bearded Vulture (gypaetus barbatus), the largest bird of prey in Europe, 4.43 feet (1.35 m) long, wingspread of 9.8 to 10.83 feet (3 m to 3.30 m). In the adult, the higher part of the head, the neck and the lower parts of the body are whitish, tinged with orange; these colors are darker on the chest; wings and tail are of a greyish black colour. This species lives in the mountains of Europe, Asia and north Africa. Lammergeiers are usually seen living in couples; they feed on lambs, goats, chamois, etc, which they attack in order to make them fall into precipices; then they eat their broken corpses. They also feed on carrion. They build their nest on inaccessible rocks, seldom on high trees.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.