Gyps fulvus
Gyps fulvus
It is distributed throughout the circum-Mediterranean region, Arabia, Turkey and Central Asia (BirdLife International, 2024). The European population is highly concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula and the Caucasus, with more fragmented nuclei in the Balkans and Mediterranean islands (Keller et al., 2020). In Spain it breeds widely, occupying 43 provinces. A polygon whose corners included Cantabria, Girona, Castellón and Segovia would encompass around 61% of the breeding range, out of the nearly 30,000 pairs detected in the latest national census (Del Moral & Molina, 2018); a population that has shown a very positive trend since national censuses have been available (Sociedad Española de Ornitología, 1981; Arroyo et al., 1990; Donázar in Purroy, 1997; Del Moral & Martí, 2001; Martí in Martí & Del Moral, 2003; Del Moral, 2009; Del Moral & Molina, 2018).
In Madrid, the latest national census recorded 557 pairs occupying 44 breeding sites, all of them along the mountains and foothills within the region (Del Moral & Molina, 2018).
Within the national park it breeds in scattered sites in practically all areas where small cliffs occur, even at considerable altitudes, but the bulk of the population is found within La Pedriza. Its population within the national park is estimated to be close to 200 pairs, of which slightly more than 150 are located in La Pedriza.
Breeding colonies are located almost exclusively on rocky cliffs, and only exceptionally do some colonies use tree platforms previously built by the cinereous vulture (Del Moral & Molina, 2018). The presence of the griffon vulture is common in open environments due to its foraging strategy, and it is frequently found in agricultural mosaics, high- and mid-mountain pastures, and humanised agricultural areas with industrial livestock operations (Donázar, 1993).
In the national park it is closely associated with the rocky walls where it breeds, but it can be observed searching for food almost anywhere, although more frequently in grasslands and areas with livestock.
At a global scale it is considered a Least Concern species (LC; 2021). In Europe it would also be classified in the same category (LC; 2021); in Spain it is likewise considered Least Concern (NT).
The Catalogue of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) includes it under the category “Of Special Interest”.
Arroyo, B., Ferreiro, E. y Garza, V. (eds.). 1990. II Censo nacional de buitre leonado (Gyps fulvus). Población, distribución, demografía y conservación. Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Madrid.
BirdLife International 2024. IUCN Red List for birds. https://datazone.birdlife.org.
Del Moral, J. C. (ed.). 2009. El buitre leonado en España. Población reproductora en 2008 y método de censo. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Del Moral, J. C. y Martí, R. (eds.) 2001. El buitre leonado en la península Ibérica. III Censo nacional y I censo ibérico coordinado, 1999. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Del Moral, J. C. y Molina, B. (eds.) 2018. El buitre leonado en España, población reproductora en 2018 y método de censo. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Donázar, J. A. 1993. Los buitres ibéricos. Biología y conservación. J. M. Reyero. Madrid.
Keller, V., Herrando, S., Voříšek, P., Franch, M., Kipson, M., Milanesi, P., Martí, D., Antón, M., Klvaňová, A., Kalyakin, M. V. Bauer, H. Gr y Foppen, R. P. B. 2020. European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Birds Census Council y Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
Salvador, A. 2016. Buitre leonado-Gyps fulvus. En Salvador, A. y Morales, M. B. (eds.): Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados españoles. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Madrid. http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/.
SEO/BirdLife (Molina, B., Nebreda, A., Muñoz, A. R., Seoane, J., Real, R., Bustamante, J. y Del Moral, J. C., Eds.). 2022. III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Sociedad Española de Ornitología. 1981. Primer censo de buitreras (1979). Ardeola, 26/27: 256-259.