[5][6] Hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a white head, broad wings and short tail feathers.

In Italy, the Eurasian griffon vulture has survived only in the island of Sardinia, but there have been recent attempts to reintroduce it in the peninsula.

In Serbia, there are around 60–65 pairs of Eurasian griffon vultures in the western parts of the country, around Zlatar mountain and also 35 birds in the canyon of the Trešnjica river.

[20] In Austria, there is a remnant population around Salzburg Zoo, and vagrants from the Balkans are often seen.In Spain and France, in 2008, there were 25,000 birds, from a low of a few thousand around 1980.

The main areas of reproduction are located in Douro International Natural Park, which is home to more than half of the Portuguese population.

Though permanently resident in the interior of the country, the griffon vulture often ventures west when the breeding season is over and can occasionally reach the Tagus Estuary and Cape St.

[21] The Pyrenees population has apparently been affected by a European Commission ruling that due to danger of bovine spongiform encephalopathy transmission, no carcasses must be left on the fields for the time being.

Like other vultures, it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring over open areas, often moving in flocks.

Density Dependence in this colonial species has been shown to affect annual reproductive success with eyries in protected location (caves, potholes and sheltered ledges) producing more fledglings, and used preferentially, than low-quality eyries (exposed ledges and open crevices), which were only used when the number of breeding individuals increased.

Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.

By allowing their internal body temperature to change independently of their metabolic rate, griffon vultures minimize their loss of water and energy in thermoregulating.

[30] One study in particular (Bahat 1995) found that these adaptations have allowed the Griffon vulture to have one of the widest thermal neutral zones of any bird.

Studies connected with reintroduction of the vultures have found that older adults are more inclined to display aggressive behaviour and signs of dominance.

Wildlife conservation efforts have attempted to increase awareness of the lethal consequences of using illegally poisoned baits through education about the issue.