# Himalayan vulture (*Gyps himalayensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/himalayan-vulture  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis), also called the Himalayan griffon, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a medium-sized bird by body mass, with adults weighing from 9 to 11 kg and a representative wingspan of 2.9 m. It is a terrestrial, sedentary scavenger of rocky habitats, with a geographic range of 3,859,000 km². It lays 1 egg per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 57 days, and is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 9 kg – 11 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 2.9 m |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Scavenger |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | rocky |
| Egg incubation | 57 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Gyps
- species: *Gyps himalayensis* Hume, 1869

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the himalayan vulture?

The himalayan vulture is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Its genus is Gyps.

### How heavy is the himalayan vulture?

Adult Himalayan vultures weigh from 9 to 11 kg, with a representative body mass of 9.8 kg. Its wingspan is 2.9 m.

### What does the himalayan vulture eat?

The himalayan vulture is a scavenger.

### What habitat does the himalayan vulture live in?

The himalayan vulture lives in rocky habitats. It is terrestrial and sedentary.

### Is the himalayan vulture endangered?

No. It is listed as Near Threatened (NT) in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### How many eggs does the himalayan vulture lay?

The himalayan vulture lays 1 egg per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The egg is incubated for 57 days.

### Who named the himalayan vulture?

The himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis, was named by Hume, 1869.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/himalayan-vulture