The function of the cosmetic coloration of bearded vultures: when art imitates life

Abstract

Free-ranging adult bearded vultures, Gypaetus barbatus, typically have a rich orange colour on their underparts, neck and head. Wild birds, however, vary considerably in coloration and captive birds have a pure white ventral plumage. Rufous birds are the most usual colour morph throughout the range of the species, except in the small populations of the Mediterranean islands of Corsica (Thiollay 1968) and Crete (Xirouchakis 1998), where white birds are common.