GRIFFON VULTURE. (Enlarge).

Rüppell's Griffon Vultures commonly fly at altitudes ranging up to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft). The birds have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD subunit; this protein has a high affinity for oxygen, which allows the species to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere. A Rüppell's Vulture was confirmed to have been ingested by a jet engine of an airplane flying over Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on November 29, 1973 at an altitude of 11,000 meters (36,100 ft). In August 2010 a Rüppell's Vulture escaped a bird of prey site in Scotland, prompting warnings to pilots in the area to keep an eye out due to the danger of collision.

 

Thank you for viewing. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Wow, a fantastic shot of this, uh, somewhat homely bird.  Your POV was just perfect and the close-up is sharp as a tack.  Excellent work... Mike  

Great action shot and good narrative, something we don't often get on this site, a nice package you put together my friend !

Thanks Mike. Definitely not shot from my study window..:-).

Thanks Tony. You mentioned the narrative. I always like to know what I am shooting. I forgot to say that the wingspan of these birds is 2.3-2.8 meters, 7.5-9.2 feet. Their numbers are diminishing every year because their habitat is gradually being destroyed. Aviaries are doing a very good preservation job.

A full flaps approach!!!

Impressive shot Dimitri.

excellent

A bit scary!

 

Cheers

 

PDE

Awesome capture!

Mihali, Mehmet, Pierre and Ann_Thao, thank you very much for your visit and comments.