Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Near Threatened | A2cde |
| 2016 | Near Threatened | A2cde |
| 2014 | Near Threatened | A2cde |
| 2013 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Near Threatened |
| Migratory status | not a migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 61,700,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 1675-6700 mature individuals | poor | suspected | 2021 |
| Population trend | decreasing | - | suspected | - |
| Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 20-29% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 14.2 years | - | - | - |
| Number of subpopulations | 2-100 | - | - | - |
Population justification: Ferguson-Lees et al. (2001) estimated the population to number 1,000-10,000 individuals, but in Europe the population is estimated at 630-960 pairs, which equates to 1,260-1,920 mature individuals, or roughly 1,890-2,880 individuals (BirdLife International in prep.). The population in Nepal was estimated at c.500 individuals in 2010 (K. Paudel and T. Galligan in litt. 2014). In Iraq, there may be fewer than 20 pairs (R. Porter in litt. 2013), with less than 100 mature individuals in the Arabian Peninsula (Symes et al. 2015). There are estimated to be a few hundred pairs in Ethiopia (I. Angelov in litt. 2011). In 2011, there were only three nest-sites known in Kenya, and six or more in Tanzania, with the population in Uganda unknown, although there was evidence of near total loss of the Mt Elgon population (S. Thomsett in litt. 2011). There are estimated to be 6-10 pairs in Morocco (Cuzin 2019) but not recent information on its status in Algeria, and it is considered extinct in Tunisia (F. Cuzin in litt. 2011). The total population in North Africa is therefore estimated to be c. 8-14 breeding pairs. In southern Africa, including South Africa, the population is estimated at c.100 breeding pairs (S. Krüger in litt. 2012). A revised global estimate is therefore 2,500-10,000 individuals, roughly equating to 1,675-6,700 mature individuals.
Trend justification: Population trends vary throughout the species range. The European population has increased since 1980, largely due to conservation actions such as reintroduction programmes (BirdLife International in prep.). However, surveys in Upper Mustang, Nepal, recorded a decline of 89.3% in the population along the primary transect during 2002-2014, equating to a decline of >99% over three generations (42.6 years [Bird et al. 2020]), suspected to have been caused by diclofenac poisoning (Paudel et al. 2016). However, the same study found no evidence of declines in smaller, more remote locations. In the Himalayas of India, there has been a perceived decline in recent years (P. Trivedi in litt. 2013). It was once commonly seen in the western and central Himalayas, but in recent years it has not been observed as frequently in the central lower Himalaya, perhaps owing to disturbance (R. Naoroji in litt. 2011), and there has been an apparent decline in Uttarakhand since the late 1990s (M. Sharma in litt. 2014). Populations in Ladakh and along the high Himalayas are regarded as likely to be secure (R. Naoroji in litt. 2011). The frequency of reports of Bearded Vulture sightings in India on eBird declined by c.60% during 2000-2018, indicating a population decline in this area (SoIB 2020). The population appears to be stable in south-eastern Kazakhstan (S. Sklyarenko in litt. 2011). In Yemen, the species appears to have declined since the early 1980s (R. Porter in litt. 2013). The species's range and population in Turkey also appear to have declined in recent years (K. A. Boyla in litt. 2014, BirdLife International 2015). In Armenia, the population has been stable since the 1990s (M. Ghasabyan in litt. 2011). In the isolated population in southern Africa, the species's breeding range has declined by about 27% since the early 1980s, with the number of breeding territories declining by 32-51% between 1960-1999 and 2000-2012 (Krüger et al. 2014, S. Krüger in litt. 2012) due to increased mortality (Kruger et al. 2015) and reduced breeding productivity (Kruger & Amar 2017). Overall, it is suspected that the population has declined by 20-29% over the past three generations.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Albania | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Algeria | possibly extant | native | yes | |||
| Andorra | extant | native | yes | |||
| Armenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Austria | extant | reintroduced | yes | |||
| Azerbaijan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bhutan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Bulgaria | extinct | native | yes | |||
| China (mainland) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Croatia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Cyprus | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Czechia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Djibouti | possibly extant | native | yes | |||
| Egypt | extant | native | yes | |||
| Eritrea | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ethiopia | extant | native | yes | |||
| France | extant | native | yes | |||
| Georgia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Germany | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | |||
| India | extant | native | yes | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | extant | native | yes | |||
| Iraq | extant | native | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Italy | extant | reintroduced | yes | |||
| Jordan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Kazakhstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kenya | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lebanon | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Lesotho | extant | native | yes | |||
| Liechtenstein | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Mauritania | extinct | vagrant | yes | |||
| Mongolia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Montenegro | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Morocco | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mozambique | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Namibia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Nepal | extant | native | yes | |||
| North Korea | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| North Macedonia | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Pakistan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Palestine | extinct | vagrant | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Romania | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Central Asian) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Saudi Arabia | possibly extinct | native | yes | |||
| Serbia | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Somalia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| South Africa | extant | native | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sudan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Switzerland | extant | reintroduced | yes | |||
| Syria | extinct | native | yes | |||
| Tajikistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tanzania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Turkmenistan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Uganda | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uzbekistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Yemen | extant | native | yes | |||
| Zimbabwe | extant | vagrant | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | resident |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude | suitable | resident |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | resident |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | major | breeding | |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | resident |
| Altitude | 1000 - 7500 m | Occasional altitudinal limits | (min) 600 m |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Other options | Other threat | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Transportation & service corridors | Utility & service lines | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence |
| Medicine - human & veterinary | subsistence |
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/bearded-vulture-gypaetus-barbatus on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.