Lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus (protonym, Vultur barbatus), from the German, Lämmergeier, for lamb vulture (another alternate common name, although a misnomer), the bearded vulture or bearded vulture-eagle, the bone breaker and the ossifrage, photographed at Debre Libanos, Ethiopia (Africa).
Image: Dan Logen, 25 January 2011 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 800, f/8, 1/640 sec
Question: This distinctive Ethiopian mystery bird has a bizarre habit. Can you identify this bird and tell me what it does that's so strange?
Response: This is an adult lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus. These handsome carrion-eating birds are distinct from vultures and lack the vultures' characteristic bald head. In flight, the lammergeier is unlike any other bird because it has long, narrow wings that span 3 metres (10 feet) and a long wedge-shaped tail. It is the only member of its genus, Gypaetus. Together with its closest living relative, the Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus, the lammergeier forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae (hawks and eagles), which is only distantly related. Further, even though the lammergeier and its sister species are often considered to be Old World vultures, they are not closely related to vultures, either.
This large bird has a bizarre habit of dropping large bones from high up onto rocky surfaces to break them. The bird then flies down to locate the shattered bones, which it devours. Lammergeiers have favored bone breaking sites that they use repeatedly. These sites are known as ossuaries.
To watch these birds in action, here's a video courtesy of BBC:
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
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