Cinereous vulture
Aegypius monachus
A very large, almost uniformly dark scavenging raptor. Confirmed in Georgia as a breeding resident and a migrant on the 2024 national bird checklist. Nesting is documented in the south-east dry zone.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Carrion
Status in Georgia
Resident and migrant
Size
100–110 cm
Habitat
Dry steppe and juniper
Family
Accipitridae
Conservation
EN / IUCN NT
Human interaction: It is not a threat to people on ordinary encounters. It is not venomous. It has a large bill and talons; do not handle it. Pairs can be aggressive at the nest. Do not approach nests. Capture or killing of a Red List species is prohibited. Poisoned baits are a direct risk to scavengers.
Overview
What is Cinereous vulture
The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a very large scavenger; in Georgia the 2024 checklist confirms it as a breeding resident and a migrant. It belongs to Accipitridae; Aegypius is a monotypic genus. In Georgian the official name is სვავი. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia codes it YR-R; M: a breeder recorded in the country through the year, and a passage migrant. Seasonality is classed as high-quality (code A). Occurrence quality is high (H), with photographs. Adults are uniformly dark brown to black, with a paler bluish-grey head and a massive bill. It is not a threat to people on ordinary encounters; nests should not be approached. IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened. Georgia’s 2014 Red List treats it as Endangered (EN, D1). The 2024 checklist assigns national category NT; those two national assessments disagree.
Last updated
Identification
How to identify Cinereous vulture
A very large, almost uniformly dark scavenger with a short wedge-shaped tail and a massive bill. Confirmed in Georgia as a breeding resident and a migrant on the 2024 checklist. Usual confusion is with griffon, bearded and Egyptian vultures and with large eagles.
- 01
At species level length is often about 100–110 cm, wingspan about 250–295 cm, mass often about 7–12 kg; females are generally larger than males. No separate measured Georgian series is given on this page. Adult plumage is uniformly dark brown or black; the head is paler bluish-grey with sparse down and a dark cowl-like ruff. Juveniles are blacker, including the head. The legs are partly bare; the cere and bill base are pale, the bill massive. In flight the silhouette is rectangular broad wings and a short wedge-shaped tail.
- 02
Eurasian griffon (Gyps fulvus) is also YR-R; M on the 2024 checklist; this atlas has a page for that species. It has a pale sandy body, contrasting dark flight feathers, a longer neck and a pale ruff; it often soars with wings in a V. Cinereous vulture is uniformly dark and holds the wings flatter. Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is YR-R: narrower wings, a long diamond-shaped tail, rusty body and a black “beard” in adults. Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is BB; M and much smaller; adults are white with black flight feathers and a yellow face. Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) has a page in this atlas: longer tail, golden nape, fully feathered legs; it hunts live prey and is not a carrion specialist. Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is much smaller. Bearded and Egyptian vultures do not yet have separate pages here.
- 03
It is not a direct threat to people on an ordinary hike. Do not handle it. A very large uniformly dark bird with a short wedge-shaped tail over dry juniper slopes in the south-east is more likely this species than a griffon or an eagle.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
This page does not colour a municipality-by-municipality map. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level resident and migrant status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. Do not assume it occurs evenly on the Colchis lowland or on high alpine ridges. Gavashelishvili, McGrady and Javakhishvili (2006), from surveys in 1994–2002, restrict breeding to about 1,993 km² in south-east Georgia at 100–900 m: steppe (Bothriochloa ischaemum), semi-desert (Artemisia fragrans) and arid woodland (Juniperus, Paliurus, Pistacia). All 31 nests found were in mature juniper, mostly on steep north-facing slopes. Named protected areas in that paper are Vashlovani Nature Reserve (about half the pairs in 2002), and the Korugi, Iori and Chachuna sanctuaries. Abuladze (1983) reported breeding elsewhere in the country; by 2006 no breeding had been seen in those areas. In July 2024 SABUKO tagged a chick still in the nest. VCF states that the last estimate was about 50 breeding pairs, mostly along the Georgia–western Azerbaijan border pastures. That is a named breeding range, not a full national map. This page includes a photograph by Vazhiko Kochiashvili from Vashlovani Protected Areas (2020-08-05) and photographs by Mamuka Tsiskarauli (31 May) without a named locality here.
Diet
It is a scavenger: it feeds on dead animals, not as a typical hunter of live large prey. In the south-east Georgian breeding range the 2006 paper links food to winter (October–April) sheep flocks and high mortality under extensive livestock farming; grazing there is almost absent in other seasons. VCF (2024) names the same pastures as among the highest year-round densities of extensive livestock in the Caucasus. No separate percentage diet study for Georgia is given on this page. At species level it takes large-mammal carcasses, including livestock. Do not bait wild birds or put out poisoned carcasses.
Behavior
It is active by day. In flight the wings are very long and broad, with fingered tips; the tail is short and wedge-shaped. When soaring it often holds the wings almost flat, not in a deep V, which helps separate it from griffon vulture. It nests in loose clusters or as scattered pairs. In Georgia in 2002 the mean nearest-neighbour distance among identified pairs was about 1.1 km (range 440–2,469 m); the shortest distance between nests was 20 m. At species level the clutch is usually one egg; incubation and nestling periods are long. A separate Georgian egg-date series is not given on this page. On 30 July 2024 SABUKO tagged a nestling (7.1 kg) still in the nest. The 2024 checklist also codes the species as a migrant. VCF states that Caucasian cinereous vultures, like those in Central Asia, leave the breeding grounds in winter and winter farther south, unlike more sedentary European birds; a full analysis of Georgian GPS tracks is not on this page. Voice is rarely heard in flight; hisses or grunts may occur at the nest. Do not handle wild birds or approach nests.
Conservation
BirdLife International lists Aegypius monachus as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. The 2024 Georgian checklist gives global and national category NT and notes that national status improved from EN to NT. Government of Georgia Decree No. 190 (2014) places the species on the Red List as სვავი, Aegypius monachus, EN, criterion D1 (very small population). That is the legal list; the 2024 ornithological checklist codes it nationally as NT. The 2015 European Red List of Birds annex gives Georgia 9–30 breeding pairs (2005–2012, medium quality). The Flyway Action Plan table lists Georgia at 50 breeding pairs (2016, quality G, trend stable). VCF (2024) repeats about 50 pairs as the last estimate. A complete 2020s national census is not on this page. Gavashelishvili et al. (2006) linked the restricted nesting range to human disturbance (seasonal grazing) and climate (rainfall), not to an obvious lack of food or nest trees in that sample. At species level main threats are poisoning, habitat degradation, collision with power lines and wind turbines, illegal shooting, and nest disturbance. Do not catch or kill wild birds.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Cinereous vulture.
Yes. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia accepts it as a year-round resident and a migrant (YR-R; M), with photographs.
Breeding is documented in south-east dry steppe and juniper woodland at about 100–900 m, including Vashlovani, Korugi, Iori and Chachuna protected areas. This page does not map the whole country. Do not approach nests.
A very large, uniformly dark bird with a short wedge-shaped tail, a massive bill and, in adults, a paler head. Griffon has a pale body and often soars with a V. Eagles have a longer tail and a golden nape.
At species level length is often about 100–110 cm, wingspan about 250–295 cm, mass often about 7–12 kg. No separate Georgian measurement series is given on this page.
Carrion, especially large-mammal carcasses. In south-east Georgia food is linked to winter sheep flocks. It is not a typical hunter of live large prey.
The 2024 checklist codes it as both resident and migrant. It is in the south-east in the breeding season. VCF states that Caucasian birds leave the breeding grounds in winter; a precise winter map is not given here.
Yes. YR-R means a breeding resident. Nests are documented in mature juniper in the south-east. A nestling was tagged in the nest in July 2024.
Harmless on ordinary encounters; do not approach nests. Globally NT. The 2014 Red List is EN D1; the 2024 checklist codes it nationally as NT. Do not catch wild birds.
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia (Sandgrouse 46)
- Gavashelishvili, McGrady & Javakhishvili 2006 — Breeding cinereous vultures in Georgia (Oryx)
- Vulture Conservation Foundation / SABUKO 2024 — Cinereous Vulture tagged in Georgia
- Andevski (ed.) — Flyway Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cinereous Vulture
- BirdLife International 2015 — European Red List of Birds, Aegypius monachus
- BirdLife DataZone — Cinereous Vulture
- IUCN Red List — Aegypius monachus (BirdLife International)
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- NPLG Wiki Dictionaries — სვავი
- IOC World Bird List
- ITIS — Aegypius monachus
- SABUKO — Bird checklist
- Avibase — Georgia bird checklist
- მამუკა ცისკარაული — სვავი (31 მაისი)
- ვაჟიკო ქოჩიაშვილი — სვავი, ვაშლოვანის დაცული ტერიტორია (2020-08-05)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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