Lammergeier

Gypaetus barbatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

		adult adult in flight juvenile
2006-11-25 Little Almaty gorge, Ile-Alatau National Park 2006-11-25 Little Almaty gorge, Ile-Alatau National Park2011-08-30 Almaty area. Borokhudzir.	© Askar Isabekov © Askar Isabekov© Andrey Kovalenko

Distribution

Inhabits the highland of south-eastern Kazkahstan. Recorded on Ustyrt. Please see detailed distribution in the section Subspecies.

Biology

Lammergeier is rare resident. Inhabits the mountains on altitude 2000-4000 m, above the forest belt often, but on the food searching occurs in the lower altitudes also. The breeding begins very early, the mating behaviour and nest building were observed in October - December. Nest is built in the rock cave, often obtainable only from air; nest is constructed from the thick twigs and is lined with rags, hair and other soft material. Both parents build the nest for about 55-60 days. Each pair has 2-3 nests which is used for breeding by rotation and is repaired each year. Laying of 1-2 eggs is in December – February. Both parents incubate for 55-57 days, and feed the nestlings. Chicks hatch in March and fledge in early June – July, at the age about 3.5 months old, but the long time juveniles are dependent on parents in the feeding. In autumn Lammergeiers become nomadic but the details of them life in this season aren't explored.

Subspecies

	Gypaetus barbatus hemachalanus (Hutton, 1838) Description. The larger race. Male wing length 790-870 (855), female 820-910 (880) mm. The dark breast band is almost uninterrupted. Distribution. Breeds in Dzhungar Alatau and Tien Shan excepting probably Western Tien Shan. In 1989-1992 regularly occurs in Saur ridge. Stray birds observed in Altai, on Kurchumskyi Ridge.
	Gypaetus barbatus aureus (Hablizl, 1783) Description. The lesser race. Male wing length is 805-815 (810), female 810-840 (830) mm. The throat and craw are white or buffy with the separate black spots not formed the solid band. Distribution. Breeds in Western Tien Shan. Recorded on Ustyurt (5th November 2012)

References

"Птицы Казахстана" том 2. "Наука". Алма-Ата, 1962. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005.