Systematics

Vvltvr fuluus Hablizl 1783, Neue nordische Beyträge zur physikalischen und geographischen Erd-und Völkerbeschreibung, Naturgeschichte und Oekonomie, p. 58.—Type locality: "Samamissischen Alpen" (Gilan, north Iran; 37 Hablizl, C. (1783). Bemerkungen in der persischen Landschaft Gilan und auf den gilanischen Gebirgen. Logan, St. Petersburg, Russia. Close ). Restricted to "Javaher Dash, Iran" (38 Mlíkovský, J. (2011). Nomenclatural and taxonomic status of birds (Aves) collected during the Gmelin Expedition to the Caspian Sea in 1768-1774. Journal of the National Museum Prague Natural History Series 180:81–121. Close ). Type specimen, not located. Hablizl mentioned taking the name (Vultur fulvus) from Brisson, but mistakenly used the name fuluus, which was corrected to fulvus by later authors (39 Gmelin, J. F. (1788). Caroli a Linné Systema Naturae. 13th edition, Volume 1. George Emanuel Beer, Leipzig, Germany. Close , 40 Schlegel, H. (1844). Revue critique des oiseaux d’Europe. Arnz et Comp., Leiden. Close , 41 Sharpe, R. B. (1874). Catalogue of the Accipitres or Diurnal Birds of Prey in the Collection in the British Museum. Taylor and Francis, London, UK. Close , 42 Hartert, E. (1914). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna: Systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Heft IX (Bd. II, 3). R. Friedländer & Sons, Berlin, Germany. Close ). The name Vultur fulvus Brisson 1760 is not available for zoological nomenclature (43 ICZN (1963). Declaration 105. Brisson, 1760, Ornithologie: restriction to certain portions of that work of the validation granted under the Plenary Powers. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 20(1–6):343–344. Close ).

Junior synonyms are (42 Hartert, E. (1914). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna: Systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Heft IX (Bd. II, 3). R. Friedländer & Sons, Berlin, Germany. Close , 34 Ali, S., and S. D. Ripley (1978). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 1. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi, India. Close ):

Vultur leucocephalus Wolf, 1810, Taschenbuch der deutschen Vögelkunde, 1, p. 7.—“Schlesien und Tyrol” (44 Wolf, J. (1810). Taschenbuch der deutschen Vögelkunde. Erster Theil welcher die Landvögel enthält. F. Wilmans, Frankfurt am Main. Close ). Type material not located.

Vultur albicollis Brehm, 1831, Handbuch der Naturgeschichte aller Vögel Deutschlands, p. 1010.—“Südeuropa, namentlich in Italien” (45 Brehm, C. L. (1831). Handbuch der Naturgeschichte aller Vögel Deutschlands, nach den sorgfältigsten Untersuchungen und den genauesten Beobachtungen mehr als 900 einheimische Vögel- Gattungen zur Begründung einer ganz neuen Ansicht und Behandlung ihrer Naturgeschichte vollständig beschrieben sind. B. F. Voigt, Ilmenau. Close ). Type material not located.

Vultur chassefiente Rüppell 1836, Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig. Vögel. Part 2. Siegmund Schmerber, Frankfurt am Main, p. 43, 47.—“Das ganze Süd -Europa, ganz Afrika und Asien bis nach Indien” (46 Rüppell, E. (1836). Vögel. Part 2. In Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig, entdeckt und beschrieben. Siegmund Schmerber, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. pp. 3-116, pls. 7-18 Close ). There are four specimens from Rüppell's collection in Senckenberg Museum, Franfurt am Main, that could be syntypes. Three are from Egypt (SMF 14737, SMF 14740–14741, and one is from the Pyrenees (SMF 14735; G. Mayr, personal communication).

Vultur gallipennis Brehm, 1840, Isis von Oken 1840, p. 615.—“Insel Cypern” (47 Brehm, C. L. (1840). Vollständige Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands. Isis von Oken 1840:589–625, 767–780. Close ). Type material not located.

Vultur isabellinus Brehm, 1842, Isis von Oken 1842, p. 509.—“Südwestlichen Europas” (48 Brehm, C. L. (1842). Schilderung mehrerer Ausflüge nach Brinnis bey Delitzsch, 4 Stunden von Leipzig, in zoologischer, vorzüglich ornithologischer Hinsicht. Isis von Oken 1842:409–485, 488–516, 566–590, 647–681, 752–788. Close ). Type material not located.

Vultur fulvus occidentalis Schlegel, 1844, Revue critique des oiseaux d’Europe. Arnz et Comp., Leide, p. 12.—“Sardinien, Pyrénéen” (40 Schlegel, H. (1844). Revue critique des oiseaux d’Europe. Arnz et Comp., Leiden. Close ). Type material in Naturalis Museum, Leiden. Syntypes RMNH 87772–87223 from Sardinia.

Vultur fulvus orientalis Schlegel, 1862, Vultures. Muséum d’Histoire naturelle des Pays-Bas. Revue méthodique et critique des collections déposées dans cet établissement, Livr. 2, Mon. 10, p. 6. E. J. Brill, Leiden.—“Eastern Europe” (49 Schlegel, H. (1862). Vultures. In Muséum d’Histoire naturelle des Pays-Bas. Revue méthodique et critique des collections déposées dans cet établissement. Livr. 2, Mon. 10. E. J. Brill, Leiden. pp. 1-12 Close ). Type material in Naturalis Museum, Leiden. Syntypes RMNH 192568, 192572 and 192577 from Eastern Europe; RMNH 192569, from Spalatro, Dalmatia; RMNH 192570–192571, from Dalmatia.

Gyps hispaniolensis Sharpe, 1874, Catalogue of the Accipitres, or diurnal birds of prey, in the collection of the British Museum. Taylor and Francis, London, 1, p. 6.—“Spain and Northern Africa – ranging far into the interior” (41 Sharpe, R. B. (1874). Catalogue of the Accipitres or Diurnal Birds of Prey in the Collection in the British Museum. Taylor and Francis, London, UK. Close ). Sharpe (1874) includes three stuffed specimens in the description, all of which are therefore syntypes of the taxon Gyps hispaniolensis. These are held in the Natural History Museum, London as follows (M. Adams, personal communication): NHMUK 1873.12.26.15 – ‘S. Spain’ (no date), presented by R. B. Sharpe; NHM Vell.Cat.5.7.a – ‘Interior of Africa’ (no date), from Major Denham. The third specimen listed by Sharpe (‘Europe. Purchased’) has not been located.

Gyps cinnamomeus Reichenow, 1907, Ornithologiske Monatsberichte 15:30. Type locality given as "Gebirgsketten nördlich des Narynflusses, Alexandergebirge, Alatau, stammt" (50 Reichenow, A. (1907). Neue Vogelarten. Ornithologiske Monatsberichte 15:29–31. Close ).

Gyps indicus jonesi Whistler, 1927, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 47, p. 74.—“Margala range, Rawalpindi district” (51 Whistler, H. (1927). Mr. H. Whistler communicated the description of a new race of Vulture. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 47: 74–75. Close ). Holotype, Natural History Museum, London, NHMUK 1926.9.14.1. The taxon jonesi could be a synonym of fulvescens (52 Mayr, E., and G. W. Cottrell (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World: Revision of the Work of James L. Peters. Volume 1. Second edition. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ).

Currently, the Eurasian Griffon is included in the genus Gyps (53 Savigny, J. L. (1809). Explication sommaire des planches d’oiseaux de l’Égypte et de la Syrie. Partie systématique. In Description de l’Egypte, ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l’expédition de l’armée francaise, publié par les ordres de sa majesté l’empereur Napoléon le grand. Histoire naturelle. Tome premier (E. F. Jomard, Editor), Imprimerie Impériale, Paris, France. pp. 1–54. Close ).

Several studies have examined the genetic variation of Mediterranean populations of the Eurasian Griffon. Among samples from Spain (n = 35), Israel (n = 13), and Cyprus (n = 20), the mean number of alleles per polymorphic locus, the allelic richness, and rates of heterozygosity did not differ significantly (54 Arshad, M., J. Gonzalez, A. A. El-Sayed, T. Osborne, and Wink, M. (2009). Phylogeny and phylogeography of critically endangered Gyps species based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Journal of Ornithology 150(2): 419–430. Close ). Similar results were observed in a comparison of samples from Pyrenees (n = 85), Israel (n = 23), and Croatia (n = 40). The population from Croatia showed some genetic divergence, probably due to recent isolation from other populations (55 Le Gouar, P., F. Rigal, M. C. Boisselier-Dubayle, F. Sarrazin, C. Arthur, J. P. Choisi, O. Hatzofe, S. Henriquet, P. Lécuyer, C. Tessier, G. Susic, and S. Samadi (2008). Genetic variation in a network of natural and reintroduced populations of Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) in Europe. Conservation Genetics 9(2): 349–359. Close ). Sequence analysis of the mtDNA D-loop region of samples from Sardinia Island (n = 44), Crete Island (n = 33), and Cyprus (n = 7) showed no phylogeographic structure, though it appears the populations on Cyprus suffered a genetic bottleneck and lost a lot of genetic diversity (sample sizes were small though; 56 Mereu, P., M. Pirastru , V. Satta, G. N. Frongia, N. Kassinis, M. Papadopoulos, E. Hadjisterkotis, S. Xirouchakis, L. Manca, S. Naitana, and G. G. Leoni (2019). Mitochondrial D-loop sequence variability in three native insular Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) populations from the Mediterranean Basin. BioMed Research International 2019:2073919. Close ). Genetic variation of Asian populations has not been examined.

There are no detailed studies of morphological or plumage variation across populations of Eurasian Griffon; however, male Eurasian Griffon from Crete (Greece) were significantly larger than females in measurements of head length, head width, and bill length (35 Xirouchakis S. M., and N. Poulakakis (2008). Biometrics, sexual dimorphism and gender determination of Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus from Crete. Ardea 96(1): 91–98. Close ), whereas female Eurasian Griffon from Israel were heavier, with a significantly higher wing loading (8%) when compared to males (36 Spiegel, O., R. Harel, A. Centeno-Cuadros, O. Hatzofe, W. M. Getz, and R. Nathan (2015). Moving beyond Curve Fitting: Using Complementary Data to Assess Alternative Explanations for Long Movements of Three Vulture Species. The American Naturalist 185(2): E44-E54. Close ).

Gyps fulvus fulvescens is slightly smaller than nominate Gyps fulvus fulvus (9 Glutz von Blotzheim, N., K. M. Bauer, and E. Bezzel (1971). Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Band 4. Falconiformes. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Close ).

Gyps fulvescens Hume 1869. My Scrap Book: Or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology:19.—Punjaub, northern Rajpootana and the North-Western Provinces, north and west of Htawah [India] (57 Hume, A. O. (1869). My Scrap Book: Or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology. C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Close ). There is a syntype in the Natural History Museum, Tring, an adult male (NHMUK 1885.8.19.10) collected by A. O. Hume at Gurgaon, Punjab, in 1868 (58 Warren, R. L. M. (1966) Type-specimens of birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume1. Non-passerines. British Museum (Natural History), London. Close ). Hume mentioned Gyps fulvescens in another publication issued during the same year (59 Hume, A. O. (1869). Sir—I recently sent to M. Jules Verreaux, for examination, a small box of bird-skins, in regard to which I shall address you later more in detail, as they include, I think, nearly twenty species new to our Indian avifauna; but I wish to put on record the names of some few of them about which I am pretty sure. Ibis 2:355–357. Close ).

The taxon Gyps fulvescens Hume 1869 has long been considered a subspecies of the Eurasian Griffon (42 Hartert, E. (1914). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna: Systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Heft IX (Bd. II, 3). R. Friedländer & Sons, Berlin, Germany. Close ). However, a recent genetic study showed that two samples of fulvescens were phylogenetically different from the Eurasian Griffon and clustered with the Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis). Divergence estimates between nominate fulvus Eurasian Griffon individuals and fulvescens were higher (1.5–2.5%) than divergence estimates between fulvescens and Gyps himalayensis (0.0–0.6%; 60 Johnson, J. A., H. R. L. Lerner, P. C. Rasmussen, and D. P. Mindell (2006). Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6: 65. Close ). These results do not support fulvescens as a subspecies of the Eurasian Griffon. However, because these results were based on only two individuals of fulvescens using only mtDNA, further analyses are needed to clarify the relationships among these taxa (60 Johnson, J. A., H. R. L. Lerner, P. C. Rasmussen, and D. P. Mindell (2006). Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6: 65. Close ).

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SUBSPECIES

Gyps fulvus fulvus Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

Vvltvr fuluus Hablizl 1783, Neue nordische Beyträge zur physikalischen und geographischen Erd-und Völkerbeschreibung, Naturgeschichte und Oekonomie, p. 58.—Type locality: "Samamissischen Alpen" (Gilan, north Iran; 37 Hablizl, C. (1783). Bemerkungen in der persischen Landschaft Gilan und auf den gilanischen Gebirgen. Logan, St. Petersburg, Russia. Close ). Restricted to "Javaher Dash, Iran" (38 Mlíkovský, J. (2011). Nomenclatural and taxonomic status of birds (Aves) collected during the Gmelin Expedition to the Caspian Sea in 1768-1774. Journal of the National Museum Prague Natural History Series 180:81–121. Close ).

Distribution

Northwestern Africa, Iberian Peninsula, southern France east through Mediterranean Basin (including Mallorca, Sardinia, Crete, and Cyprus), Balkans, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, and Iran to Pamirs and south and eastern Kazakhstan.

Identification Summary

Described under Plumages.

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SUBSPECIES

Gyps fulvus fulvescens Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

Gyps Fulvescens Hume, 1869, My Scrapbook: or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology, p. 19 (57 Hume, A. O. (1869). My Scrap Book: Or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology. C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Close ).

Distribution

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India east to Assam.

Identification Summary

Definitive Basic Plumage is similar in males and females. Plumage is cinnamon brown, with the underparts pinkish brown with narrow pale shaft stripes. The upperparts are dirty white, with the quills forming a broad black apex, and a yellowish ruff (9 Glutz von Blotzheim, N., K. M. Bauer, and E. Bezzel (1971). Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Band 4. Falconiformes. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Close , 34 Ali, S., and S. D. Ripley (1978). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 1. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi, India. Close ). Immature plumage is dark fulvous brown (34 Ali, S., and S. D. Ripley (1978). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 1. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi, India. Close ).

The genus Gyps is a monophyletic clade (54 Arshad, M., J. Gonzalez, A. A. El-Sayed, T. Osborne, and Wink, M. (2009). Phylogeny and phylogeography of critically endangered Gyps species based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Journal of Ornithology 150(2): 419–430. Close , 61 Mindell, D. P., J. Fuchs, and J. A. Johnson (2018). Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes. In Birds of Prey (J. Sarasola, J. Grande and J. Negro, Editors), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. pp. 3–32. Close ). Phylogenetic results of two studies, one based on combined loci of mitochondrial control region (CR), ND2, and cytb (60 Johnson, J. A., H. R. L. Lerner, P. C. Rasmussen, and D. P. Mindell (2006). Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6: 65. Close ), and another one based on the mitochondrial cytb gene and nuclear RAG-1 gene (54 Arshad, M., J. Gonzalez, A. A. El-Sayed, T. Osborne, and Wink, M. (2009). Phylogeny and phylogeography of critically endangered Gyps species based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Journal of Ornithology 150(2): 419–430. Close ), supported the White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) as the earliest to diverge, finding it appeared to be sister to all other species of the genus. In both studies, the Eurasian Griffon was found to be sister to the Rüppell's Griffon (Gyps rueppelli), with these two species in turn sister to the Cape Griffon (Gyps coprotheres), Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus), and Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) (60 Johnson, J. A., H. R. L. Lerner, P. C. Rasmussen, and D. P. Mindell (2006). Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6: 65. Close , 54 Arshad, M., J. Gonzalez, A. A. El-Sayed, T. Osborne, and Wink, M. (2009). Phylogeny and phylogeography of critically endangered Gyps species based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Journal of Ornithology 150(2): 419–430. Close ). This large, well-supported clade was found to be sister to either the Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) (60 Johnson, J. A., H. R. L. Lerner, P. C. Rasmussen, and D. P. Mindell (2006). Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6: 65. Close ) or to the White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) (54 Arshad, M., J. Gonzalez, A. A. El-Sayed, T. Osborne, and Wink, M. (2009). Phylogeny and phylogeography of critically endangered Gyps species based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Journal of Ornithology 150(2): 419–430. Close ).

A possible hybrid Eurasian Griffon x Rüppell's Griffon (Gyps rueppelli) was photographed in the wild in the Sierra de San Pedro (Cáceres Province, Spain) in 2009 (62 Gordillo Caballero, J. (2012). Posible híbrido entre buitre leonado y buitre moteado. Quercus 317:43. Close ).

Successful breeding of a male Rüppell's Griffon (Gyps rueppelli) with a female Eurasian Griffon was observed in the wild in Málaga Province (Spain). The hybrid fledging left the nest in September 2023 (63 Muñoz, A. R., J. Ramírez, and R. Real (2023). A critically endangered African vulture starts breeding in Europe: escaping from extinction or entering a genetic amalgamation trap? Ardeola 71(1):131–135. Close ).

The genus name Gyps is derived from Greek, meaning vulture. The species name fulvus is derived from Latin, meaning tawny, brown, fulvous (64 Jobling, J. A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. A. & C. Black, London, UK. Close ).

The stratigraphic range of the Eurasian Griffon extends from the Middle Pleistocene (730.000–127,000 BP) to the Late Pleistocene (127,000–10,000 BP), and the Holocene(10,000 BP–present; 65 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ).

Fossils of the Eurasian Griffon have been found in Rethymnon fissure (Crete, Greece) from the Pleistocene (66 Vlachos, E. (2015). The Fossil Chelonians of Greece. Systematics - Evolution - Stratigraphy - Palaeoecology. Scientific Annals of the School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 173: 1–479. Close ) and in Liko Cave (Crete, Greece) from the Late Pleistocene (67 Weesie, P. D. M. (1988). The Quaternary avifauna of Crete, Greece. Palaeovertebrate 18:1–94. Close , 68 Willemsen, G. F. (1992). A revision of the Pliocene and Quaternary Lutrinae from Europe. Scripta Geologica 101: 1–115. Close ). Fossils have also been found in Binagada (Azerbaijan) from the Late Pleistocene (120,000–96,000 BP; 69 Gorobets, L. V., and V. O. Yanenko (2018). Late Pleistocene birds from Binagada (Azerbaijan) in collection of the National Museum of Natural History (Kyiv, Ukraine). Vestnik Zoologii 52: 31–36. Close ), and in Umm-Qatafa (Israel) from the Upper Acheulean (170,000–200,000 BP; 65 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ).

Fossils from Late Pleistocene deposits have been found in Predmosti (Czech Republic), Abri Pataud, Aurensan supérieur, d’Arcy-sur-Cure Cave, Grotte de la Vache, Grotte de l’Observatoire, Hortus, Isturitz, La Grand Baille, Morin, Rot de Combe, and Soulabé (France), Kebara (Israel), Khupyn-Ipshakhva and Kudaro (Georgia), Grotta Romanelli, Grotta del Colombi, and Grotta del Caviglione (Italy), Pestera Binder, Ripa, and Pestera Rece (Romania), Cuevona (Spain), Devil’s Tower and Gorham’s Cave (Gibraltar), Cueva de Zafarraya, El Pendo, and Reclau Viver (Spain; 65 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ), and Furninha Cave (Portugal; 70 Figueiredo, S. D., P. P. Cunha, F. Sousa, T. Pereira, and A. Rosa (2017). Pleistocene birds of Gruta da Furninha (Peniche-Portugal): a paleontological and paleoenvironmental aproach. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering A 6:502–509. Close ).

Fossils of the Eurasian Griffon were found in Cova Foradada (Tarragona, Spain) from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition (42,200–38,500 cal BP; 71 Núñez-Lahuerta, C., A. Rodríguez-Hidalgo, S. Bañuls-Cardona, and J. I. Morales (2024). The fossil avian assemblage from Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain) during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 650:112349. Close ).

Fossils have been found in Asiab (Iran) from the Holocene (10,000 BP), Zawi Chemi Shanidar (Iraq) from the Protoneolithic (10,870 BP; 65 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ), Bodine Cave (France) from the Holocene (between years 764 and 406 BC; 72 Mourer-Chauviré, C., M. Philippe, S. Guillard, and M. Meyssonnier (2006). Presence of the Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita (L.) during the Holocene in the Ardèche valley, southern France. Ibis 148(4): 820-823. Close ), Ksar Akil (Lebanon) from the Epipaleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, and Middle Paleolithic (50,000–10,000 BP; 73 Hooijer, D. A. (1961). The fossil vertebrates of Ksar’Akil, a Palaeolithic rock shelter in the Lebanon. Zoologische Verhandelingen 49: 3–68. Close , 74 Kersten, A. M. P. (1991). Birds from the Palaeolithic Rock Shelter of Ksar 'Akil, Lebanon. Paléorient 17(2):99–116. Close ), Nahal Rahaf (Israel) from Early Upper Paleolithic (ca. 35,000 BP; 75 Marom, N., D. L. Gnezdilov, R. Shafir, O. Barzilai, and M. Shemer (2022). Faunal remains from the Upper Paleolithic site of Nahal Rahaf 2 in the southern Judean Desert, Israel. Peer Community Journal 2:e61. Close ), and Hayonim Cave (Israel) from the Holocene (11,000–9,000 BP; 65 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ). In Türkiye, fossils of the Eurasian Griffon were found in Hallan Çemi from the Early Holocene (11,700–11,400 BP; 76 Zeder, M. A., and M. D. Spitzer (2016). New insights into broad spectrum communities of the Early Holocene Near East: the birds of Hallan Çemi. Quaternary Science Reviews 151:140–159. Close ), and in Jerf el Ahmar and in Tell Mureybet from the Early Neolithic (ca. 11,800–9,600 BP; 77 Pöllath, N., and J. Peters (2024). Early Neolithic avifaunal remains from southeast Anatolia provide insight into Early Holocene species distributions and long‐term shifts in their range. Ibis. Close ).

In the Balkans, fossils from Late Pleistocene have been found in Smolućka cave (Serbia; 78 Malez, V., and V. Dimitrijevic (1990). Gornjopleistocenska Avifauna iz Smolućke Pecine (JZ Srbija, Jugoslavija). RAD Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 449:35–76. Close ), Pešturina cave (Serbia; 79 Boev, Z. N., and S. Milošević (2020). Late Pleistocene Avifauna of the Pešturina Cave (Nišava District, SE Serbia) and its Implications for Late Pleistocene Refugia in the Central Balkans. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum Plovdiv 5:1–14. Close ), Šandalja (Croatia; 80 Malez, V. (1988). Prilog poznavanju pleistocenskih sokolovki (Falconidae) u Hrvatskoj. RAD Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 441:7–37. Close ), and Krapina (Croatia; 81 Malez, V., and M. Malez (1988). Pleistocenska ornitofauna Krapine (Hrvatska, Jugoslavia). RAD Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 441:115–141. Close ).

In Greece, bone remains of Eurasian Griffon were found at Sitragroi (Greece) from Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic (c. 4500 BC to the Early Bronze Age in the 3rd millennium BC) (82 Nikolaidou, M., and E. S. Elster (2024). The “Call of the Wild”: Hunting, fishing and foraging in the early farming villages of Northeastern Greece-environment, technologies, and culture. In Hunting and Fishing in the Neolithic and Eneolithic: Weapons, Techniques and Prey, (S. Vitezović and C. Arampatzis, Editors), Archaeopress, Oxford. pp. 36–65. Close ).

In Bulgaria, Holocene osteological remains of the Eurasian Griffon were found at Bagatchyna (4,000–1,000 BC), Kabyle (1st millennium BC–6th century AD), Ratiaria (2nd–4th century AD), Preslav (9th–16th century), and Hissarluka (9th–12th century; 83 Boev, Z. (1996). The Holocene avifauna of Bulgaria (A review of the ornitho-archaeological studies). Historia Naturalis Bulgarica 6:59–81. Close ).