Bearded Vulture Facts

Location: Africa, Asia and Europe
Species: Bearded Vultures
Added: 2025-11-4
Recorded: 2020-6-13
Source:  Smithsonian Channel

High in some of the world’s most remote mountain ranges lives one of the most extraordinary birds of prey: the lammergeier, or bearded vulture. With a wingspan approaching three metres and a diet made almost entirely of bones, it has earned the dramatic nickname “the bone breaker”.
This remarkable bird survives by dropping bones from great heights to shatter them, then digesting the fragments with exceptionally powerful stomach acid. Its lifestyle and behaviour are unlike any other bird in the natural world.
In this video, we explore how lammergeiers feed and digest bones, the myths and legends that have followed them from ancient Greece to the European Alps, their cultural role in Tibetan sky burials, and the conservation efforts helping to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
More than just a scavenger, the lammergeier is a powerful symbol of resilience, adaptation, and survival in extreme environments.