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by Vyberia. . 10 reads.

-Magarati Griffon-

Magarati Griffon
Categories: Flora and Fauna

This article was written by Athara magarat, with minor edits from Ainslie

Gyps Magaratis
Magarati Griffon




Conservation Status
Near Threatened



Classification
Kingdom: LinkAnimalia
Clade: LinkChordata
Class: LinkAves
Order: LinkAccipitriformes
Family: LinkAccipitridae
Genus: LinkGyps
Species: M. Snookumis


Habitat:Vyberia, Athara magarat

The Magarati Griffon (Gyps Magaratis) is a vulture in the family LinkAccipitridae

Description and Identification
It is known as a very large vulture and is perhaps the largest and heaviest bird found in the Mesder Sea region. Adults have a ruff that is long and pale brown with white streaks. The ruff feathers are long and spiky. The head is covered in down which is yellowish in adults but whitish in immature vultures. The underside and under-wing coverts are quite pale brown or buff, being almost white in some specimens. The legs are covered with buffy feathers and the feet can vary from greenish grey to white. The upperside is unstreaked, pale buff with the tail quills, outer greater coverts and wing quills being a contrasting dark brown. The inner-secondaries have paler tips.

This species has pale blue facial skin and a yellowish bill. In flight, the long fingers are splayed and there is a pale patagial stripe on the underwing. The wing and tail feathers are dark and contrast with the pale coverts and body. The feathers on the body have pale shaft streaks. Younger birds have a pale parts to the bill and tend to have buffy-white streaks on the scapulars and wing coverts contrasting with dark brown underparts. The weight of Magarati griffons can range from reportedly as little as 6 kg (13 lb) to as much as 12.5 kg (28 lb). A field study estimated an average of 9 kg (20 lb) for the Magarati griffon, but weights can vary depending on conditions from 8 to 12 kg (18–26 lb). The wingspan of birds varies greatly depending on the method used to measure them and published measurements vary from 2.56 to 3.1 m (8.4 to 10.2 ft).

Distribution and Habitat
The species is found mainly in the higher regions of the Chuli Mountain Range on Kaski Island, Athara magarat but can also be commonly found in the ranges of Vyberia. Juvenile birds may however disperse out of Kaski island and vagrants have been recorded in ??? nations.


Location of the Griffon population, inc the Xhukov Islands

Behaviour
The Magarati griffon perches on crags, favorite sites showing white marks from regular defecation. They tend to not range below an elevation of 1,215 m (3,986 ft). Magarati griffons often bask in the sun on rocks. They soar in thermals and are not capable of sustained flapping flight. Flocks may follow grazers up the mountains in their search for dead animals. This vulture makes a rattling sound when descending on a carcass and can grunt or hiss at roosts or when feeding on carrion.

The breeding season begins in January. The nest is a platform of sticks placed on an inaccessible ledge on a cliff. Nest in other parts of Kaski island have been recorded at between 1,215 and 1,820 m (3,986 and 5,971 ft) in elevation, but those in the Chuli Mountain Range have been as high as 4,245 m (13,927 ft). Several pairs may nest on the same cliff face, with between five and seven pairs being a typical colony size. The nests are relatively small for the large size of these birds and, although grow larger with repeated uses, do not generally get as massive as the nest of other large accipitrids. There is at least one recorded instance of Magarati griffons using a nest made by Svalbardian vultures (Gypaetus septentrionalis). On the Chuli Mountain Range, Magarati griffons and Svalbardian vultures were observed nesting in close proximity without conflict, which is notable because in several other cases of adjacent interspecies nesting by vultures (including some involving bearded vultures) have resulted in high aggression and interspecies attacks. A single white egg marked with red splotches is the usual clutch. The egg is coarse and oval and can measure from 87 to 103.6 mm (3.43 to 4.08 in) in height and 65 to 74 mm (2.6 to 2.9 in) in width, with an average of 94.8 by 70.1 mm (3.73 by 2.76 in). In captivity, the incubation period was about 54–58 days. The young birds stay on with the parents for six to seven months.

Feeding
They have been recorded eating carrion exclusively, some which is fed on even when putrid. On the Chuli Mountain Range, 64% of their diet is obtained from dead domestic Kirati yak (Bos magaratis). They feed on old carcasses sometimes waiting a couple of days near a dead animal. They disdain offal, which is readily eaten by other vultures, and instead typically eat only fleshy parts. Historically, Magarati griffons regularly fed on human corpses left out on celestial burial grounds. This species is fairly contentious around other scavengers and typically dominates other meat-eaters at carrion, though is subservient to Isles wolves (Canis insularum) and Chuli leopards (Panthera magaratis) at carcasses. In a large party, these vultures can reportedly strip a human or sheep carcass of all meat in 30 minutes and do the same to a Kirati yak carcass in roughly 120 minutes. Magarati griffons have been observed feeding on pine needles, an unexplained behavior that cannot be for obtaining nutrition.


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