Cinereous Vulture

The cinereous vulture is an immense, dark Old World vulture, 98–120 cm long with a 2.5–3.1 m wingspan. Adults are blackish-brown with a pale, down-covered head, bluish-grey bare skin and a massive bill. In flight the wings are exceptionally broad and held level or slightly arched, with a relatively short wedge-shaped tail. Its nearly uniform darkness separates it from the paler, streakier Gyps vultures. (Wikipedia, cinereous vulture account)

central Asia lies within the eastern breeding range. Cinereous vultures forage over steppe, open woodland and mountain country for carcasses; the opened account reports tarbagan marmots as an important central Asian food. Pairs build huge stick nests in trees or sometimes on cliffs and normally lay one egg, with both adults incubating and feeding the chick. The species is often solitary or paired but gathers at large carcasses. Broad dry uplands with nesting trees provide the characteristic central Asian setting. (Wikipedia, cinereous vulture account)