During the high Middle Ages in Europe, the bearded vulture (commonly known as quebrantahuesos or “bone breaker,” in Spanish) was known as the griffin or the legendary phoenix. Because of its curious red eyes and orange plumage, it was seen as a symbol of physical and spiritual regeneration, a harbinger of death and suffering.

Today, the population of this once mythical creature, has been declining due to hunting, deforestation and climate change. Now we are a danger to them and not the other way around.

The catalog of vertebrates in Navarra points at 16 species in danger of extinction. Among them, the most relevant birds are the great bustard, the ptarmigan, the bittern and the bearded vulture.

The bearded vulture is a beautiful and large bird of prey of the vulture family. It shares with its siblings the basic particularity of its diet: necrophagy. That is, it feeds on animal carcasses. In particular, bearded vultures are almost exclusively osteophagous, feeding on the bones of the animals they hunt. And if these are too large to ingest, it throws them from the heights to break them into smaller pieces. Hence its common name: quebrantahuesos (“bone breaker”).

Compared to other vultures, the Gypaetus Barbatus has an unmistakable figure: narrow wings, a long tail and a head full of brown or black feathers, depending on its age. It has a wingspan of between 275 and 300 centimeters, and usually weighs between 4.5 and 7 kilograms. Hatchlings and young specimens have a black feathered head that becomes lighter as they grow. In contrast to common vultures, which feature bare heads to be able to eat directly from animal carcasses and not infect their feathers with dirt, bearded vultures do have them since they never come close to dead meat.

These birds also live for a long time, being able to reach 10 or 12 years in perfect condition. Their bodies undergo remarkable changes such as the change from brown iris color to milky white, or its plumage mottled in shades of gray and brown to an orange belly and neck.

These birds have no sexual dimorphism, unlike most other bird species, which makes them difficult to distinguish. In addition, because they are so long-lived and copulate only once a year, they have a long reproductive cycle compared to other winged species and usually lay only one or two eggs. It takes about 120 days from the time the eggs are laid until the chicks leave the nest. Nests are usually composed of two or three adults, usually two males and one female; this is known as polyandrous breeding units.

By giving birth to so few young per family nucleus, it is not unusual that the species has lost density, especially in the Pyrenean area. But that is not the only reason why the bearded vulture is an endangered species in Europe. The main cause of mortality in this species is due to the illegal use of poisoned bait, which seriously compromises its growth and colonization of new areas. Other causes of unnatural death among the bearded vultures are accidents with power lines in mountainous areas or the construction of infrastructures that break with their natural habitat.

However, in the 2019-2020 season, the Autonomous Community of Navarra has broken a record of productivity in the breeding and protection of bearded vultures since at least 1980. Thanks to the Bearded Vulture Recovery Plan in Navarra, seven of the nine territories have been successfully occupied by this species, with the laying of four chicks where they were previously present. This is a great achievement, as the number of Bearded Vultures has increased by 64% since 1984, reaching approximately 1000 individuals. Of these, 34% are breeding individuals, but the number is still increasing every year.