Parques de Portugal

<p> <em>Aegypius monachus</em> (Linnaeus, 1766)</p>

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  • Black vulture

  • Aegypius monachus (Linnaeus, 1766)

  • Accipitridae

  • The black vulture is the biggest gliding bird of our country. It exhibits a very dark brown colouration, with wide wings in the lower section, neck with dense plumage reminiscent of a collar, and round tail. It can grow to be 115 cm long and have 285 cm span.

  • Tejo Internacional Nature Park

    Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve

  • Centro

  • Critically endangered

  • The black vulture inhabits remote and wavy fields, covered in shrub land and trees like the holm and the cork trees, near extensive pasture area an scarce brushwood. In Portugal it is found on the regions of Beira Baixa and Baixo Alentejo. 

  • All year long

  • The black vulture feeds on medium to large sized corpses, aided by its powerful beak, occasionally hunting live prey, such as reptiles or small mammals.

  • The Portuguese population of this species is estimated to be between 5 and 8 couples.