 the himalayan vulture or himalayan griffon vulture (gyps himalayensis) is an old world vulture in the family accipitridae. closely related to the european griffon vulture (g. fulvus) and once considered a subspecies of it, this species is found along the himalayas and the adjoining tibetan plateau. it is one of the two largest old world vultures and true raptors. ==description== thumb|left|juvenile in flight  this is a "huge" vultureeagles, hawks and falcons of the world by leslie brown & dean amadon. the wellfleet press (1986), isbn 978-1555214722. and is perhaps the largest and heaviest bird found in the himalayas. adults have a ruff that is long and pale brown with white streaks. the ruff feathers are long and spiky. the head is covered in down which is yellowish in adults but whitish in immature vultures. the underside and under-wing coverts are quite pale brown or buff, being almost white in some specimens. the legs are covered with buffy feathers and the feet can vary from greenish-grey to white. the upperside is unstreaked, pale buff with the tail quills, outer greater coverts and wing quills being a contrasting dark brown. the inner-secondaries have paler tips. the pale blue facial skin is lighter than the dark blue in gyps fulvus with this species having a yellowish bill. in flight the long fingers are splayed and there is a pale patagial stripe on the underwing. the wing and tail feathers are dark and contrast with the pale coverts and body, one of the best methods to distinguish this species from the slightly smaller griffon vulture. the feathers on the body have pale shaft streaks.{{cite book|title=the fauna of british india. birds. volume 5|edition=2| year=1928|author=baker, ecs| publisher= taylor and f
Animals_described_in_1869 Birds_of_Asia Gyps IUCN_Red_List_near_threatened_species Old_World_vultures