The cinereous vulture is believed to be the largest true bird of prey in the world.

Cinerious Vultures




The cinereous vulture is believed to be the largest true bird of prey in the world. The condors, which may be marginally larger, are now generally considered unrelated to the true raptors. The Himalayan griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis) is the only close extant rival to the size of the cinereous, with a similar average wingspan, weight and a longer overall length, thanks to a distinctly longer neck. The largest cinereous vultures exceed the weight and wingspan of the largest Himalayan griffon, and the cinereous is the larger species going on standard measurements. Females are slightly larger than males. This huge bird measures 98–120 cm (3 ft 3 in–3 ft 11 in) long with a 2.5–3.1 m (8 ft 2 in–10 ft 2 in) wingspan. Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg (14 to 25 lb), whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to 14 kg (17 to 31 lb).


It is thus one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Despite limited genetic variation in the species, body size increases from west to east, with the birds from southwest Europe (Spain and south France) averaging about 10% smaller than the vultures from central Asia (Manchuria, Mongolia and northern China).