stimulate yourself to fulfill the Lammergeier , a bone - jam bearded piranha that dye its feathers red with baths in springs of Fe - copious mud . As tough as it come out , the intense - looking piranha has been wipe out from much of its historic range and proceed to face experiential threats in share of its home ground .
The species ( Gypaetus barbatus ) is an Old World marauder that resist at around 100 to 115 centimeters ( 39 to 45 inches ) magniloquent with a wingspread of approximately 2.5 to 2.85 meters ( ~8 to 9 foot ) , comparable in size to some of North America ’s large raptorial bird .
They ’re a strikingly beautiful shuttlecock to seem at . Their forefront is off - livid with sharp eyes fence in by a bluff red - orange ring . Their vivid eyes are further highlighted by a striptease of jet - black feather that extends down to their beak , like a brigand mask . Beneath their break is a spikey tussock of feather , hence their English name .
The Lammergeier has an impressive wingspan.Image credit: Andrea Vergani/Shutterstock.com
As adult , their feathered body is typically blue grizzly , rusty , and whitish in colouring material . However , their light plume is often tinged with hoary orange tree due to the birds ' habit of bathing in iron - rich grease and sulphuric springs , giving them a fiery hue .
The National Audubon Societyexplains there are two schools of thought behind the whiskered vulture ’s red - touch bathing behavior . One explanation is that it ’s a “ show of prowess ” . Since the iron - plentiful springs are hidden among the mount , only the most adept vultures can find them , thereby demonstrating their valor to mates and competition . The other explanation is that iron oxide helps to fend off bacteria , which are prevailing in the shitty meat they relish .
Bearded vultures couldonce be foundacross many of the stack ranges that carve through the vast land mass of Africa and Eurasia . In Europe , their habitat historically put out across all the mountain rove in the Confederate States of America of the continent , from western Spain across the Alps to the Balkans .
Like most vultures, lammergeier have excellent eyesight, which helps them find carcasses from a great height.Image credit: slowmotiongli/Shutterstock.com
However , their European habitat now worry just small part of the Pyrenees , the Sierra Nevada in Spain , and Alpine mountain ranges , along with small populations on the Mediterranean island of Corsica and Crete . They ’re occasionally spotted in theatrical role of Western Europe , admit the UK , albeit very rarely .
They are sometimes referred to as Lammergeier , which intend something along the credit line of " lamb vulture " in Germanbecause of their reputationfor snatching sheep . dependable to the stereotype of vultures , the specie is a scavenger , living primarilyon medium - sized hoofed mammal , like sheep , goats , ibex , and so on .
Meat , however , is n’t what they are after . The bearded predator is theonly razzing in the worldthat eats primarily bones , with skeletal issue making up 85 to 90 percent of its dieting .
Their big , firm claws are beautifully adapted to the task of breaking bones and receive nutrient from within the marrow . They ’re also armed with a venter full of unbelievably strong stomach back breaker , which serve to break down their strange taste in foods . If the bones are too large to accept , bearded vultures will go to smashing heights and drip the stiff onto rough surfaces , bankrupt them into “ snack - sizing ” chip .
For this reason , they ’re often squall “ quebrantahuesos ” in Spanish , which means off-white breaker .
