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Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus Scientific name definitions

Alfredo Salvador
Version: 6.0 — Published July 26, 2024

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Introduction

Generally silent in flight. The adult uses different vocalizations for greeting its mate or during copulation, when exhibiting aggressive behavior in nest defense, or when interacting at feeding aggregations or in the roost. Nestlings have calls to request food and to express discomfort or excitement.

Vocalizations

Development

Young nestlings beg using a squeaky-chuckling beep ; larger nestlings use “gagaga“ calls. As an expression of discomfort, a nestling utters “aa“ (9). When excited or quarreling, young birds shout with rattling or hoarse cackling “tetetet“ or “gegegeg“ (9). The food-call is a “piyi, piyi“ (345).

Vocal Array

Vocal array, acoustic parameters, and sonograms of the Eurasian Griffon recorded in the wild in central Apennines (Italy) were presented by Romani et al. (346). These results represent a great advance in the standardization of the vocalizations emitted by the species, although equivalencies with sounds previously described in the bibliography have not been established. Romani et al. (346) identified 12 different types of vocalizations, namely a metallic groan, grunt, bray, quacking, hiss, groan, sharp scream, small groan, bray hiss, chicken groan, chicken coo, and juvenile scream.

Metallic Groan. The most commonly recorded vocalization produced by adults and immatures. It had a mean of 7 notes per call, with regular and/or irregular pulses, and a mean duration time of 0.925 s ± 0.770 SD (n = 87). The notes of this vocalization may have gaps of 3 ms (on average) during which no noise is produced. The single notes uttered during aggressive interactions mostly had no regular pulses and they have noise components and gaps. During non-aggressive interactions, calls with regular pulsed notes increased. The mean number of notes uttered by adults to nestlings was higher (14.7 notes ± 4.6 SD) than the mean number of notes emitted during intraspecific aggression at carcasses (5.8 notes ± 3.3 SD). Metallic groans with noise gaps but without regular pulses, and metallic groans without both regular pulses and noise gaps, were uttered mostly in aggressive interactions; metallic groans with both noise gaps and regular pulses, as well as with regular pulses but without noise gaps, were emitted mostly in non aggressive interactions (346).

Grunt Call. A single note with irregular pulses with a short mean duration of 0.096 s ± 0.039 SD (n = 33) (346).

Bray Call. A single note sound, with a mean duration 0.457 s ± 0.165 SD (n = 28). Bray calls are continuously tonal and have irregular sine waves, with noise elements in the frequency range between 400 and 4,500 Hz (346).

Quacking Call. A single note sound with a sequence of 6–12 regular pulses at 0.01 s interval, and a mean duration time 0.104 s ± 0.060 SD (n = 31) (346).

Hiss. A sound with a mean duration of 0.607 s ± 0.314 SD (n = 19), with a noise band ranging from 2,000 to 5,700 Hz (346).

Groan. A continuous tonal sound, not pulsing, modulated in frequency and consisting of 2–8 harmonics, and a mean duration 0.536 s ± 0.256 (n = 23) (346).

Sharp Scream. A single note tonal sound, not pulsing and with 2–6 harmonics. The intervals between harmonics were larger than in harmonics of groans. Mean duration was 0.671 s ± 0.344 SD (n = 21) (346).

Small Groan. A tonal sound, a pulse-free note with 2-3 clear harmonics, and a mean duration 0.083 s ± 0.036 SD ( n = 16) (346).

Bray Hiss. Similar to hiss vocalization but has a mean longer duration (1.531 s ± 0.419 SD, n = 33) (346).

Chicken Groan. A continuous tonal sound, without impulses, composed of up to two harmonics, modulated in frequency. The mean duration was 0.234 s ± 0.076 SD (n = 45) (346).

Chicken Coo. A vocalization consisting of two condensed notes with irregular pulses and a mean duration of 0.072 s ± 0.020 SD ( n = 41), (346).

Juvenile Scream. A sound slightly modulated in frequency which has 2–3 harmonics and a mean duration of 0.678 s ± 0.243 SD (n = 78) (346).

Other Vocalizations. Various authors have described several vocalizations; these may or may not fall into the categories outlined above. Greeting call of a breeding pair is a grunting “grak-grak“ or “kreh-kreh“ (347).

Dominant or aggressive individuals utter a long, hoarse hissing. A variation of hissing, similar to the call of male red deer (Cervus elaphus), is used when large numbers of birds meet and have disputes at carcasses; hoarse sobbing sounds are uttered by active onlookers. A short grunting precedes a chattering “kekeke-keke-kekekeke” or “kak-kak” when aggressive towards individuals that are close together (293).

Vocalizations during copulation includes hissing sounds and groaning creaks “ächäächäachääch“ (9), as well as a “gagr, gagr, gagr” (348). During nest defense, it hisses or calls using whistling notes (347).

Geographic Variation

Information needed.

Phenology

Information needed.

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Information needed.

Places of Vocalizing

The Eurasian Griffon vocalizes at the nest, at the roost, and at feeding aggregations near carcasses. It is especially noisy at the breeding site, but quiet when in flight, at most calling in flight when near the breeding site (9). At the roost, minor disputes about preferred locations are accompanied by screeching noises and goose-like screams (9).

Sex Differences

Information needed.

Repertoire and Delivery of Songs

See Vocal Array.

Social Context and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

Metallic groans are complex sounds which are used at different behavioral interactions. These sounds were mainly associated with attacks at feeding sites, but were also uttered during rejection of other vultures near the nest. Metallic groans were also uttered during non-aggressive interactions by adults with nestlings, before landing in the nest and regurgitate food to the chick, short-range communications and allopreening (346).

During food competition at carcasses, the Eurasian Griffon can use different vocalizations. Quacking call was emitted during stress contexts. Hisses were uttered during aggressions and warnings. Metallic groans, grunt calls, bray calls, and sharp screams were emitted during direct aggressions. Groan sounds was observed as a response passive to the attack from another individual (346).

Bray hiss was produced by adults, immatures and older nestlings in the presence of food (346).

Chicken groan was only emitted by nestlings to parents. Chicken coo was uttered by nestlings and recently fledged birds demanding food. Juvenile scream was produced by older nestlings and fledglings for communication with parents and other members of the colony (346).

Small groans were uttered during interactions at short distance and its meaning was not elucidated (346).

Nonvocal Sounds

Information needed.

Recommended Citation

Salvador, A. (2024). Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus), version 6.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman and M. A. Bridwell, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.eurgri1.06
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