Which bird is known for digesting bones?

The bird known for digesting bones is the bearded vulture. Unlike most scavenging birds, it specializes in eating the skeletons left after other predators have consumed the flesh.

About 70–90% of an adult bearded vulture’s diet can consist of bone, including marrow-rich leg bones from sheep and other hoofed mammals. Its stomach acid is exceptionally strong, with an estimated pH of about 1, and large bones can be digested in roughly 24 hours.

Bones that are too large to swallow are carried into the air and dropped onto rocky slopes. The bird repeats this process until the bone breaks into pieces small enough to consume. This behavior explains the species’ older name, ossifrage, meaning “bone breaker.”

A common mix-up is confusing the bearded vulture with ordinary vultures, which mainly eat soft tissues. It is the only living bird known to specialize in a bone-based diet.