2. From Rif-Bruyant to Valbonnais

3 points of interest

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  Fauna

  Cinereous vulture

  The Aegypius monachus, an immense bird of prey, all dressed in black, glides through the air in search of a cold meal. Very often to be found in the company of griffon vultures, it draws closer to the ground with a wide and heavy beat of its wings, turning its greyish head with its huge beak right and left, its eye seeking out every detail in the landscape. The subject of many myths and legends, its ash-grey plumage gave it its name... The four species of vulture in France never compete with one another. While the griffon vulture, with the help of its weak and large beak, prefers to eat the softer parts of carrion (viscera and muscles), the cinereous vulture likes the hard parts (skin, tendons and cartilage), which it rips using its strong, sharp beak. The fine beak of the Egyptian vulture means it can be a perfectionist... it picks the skeleton perfectly clean.

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  Fauna

  The Mouflon

  Introduced in 1949 into the Alps from breeds from Corsica and central Europe, this is an ancestor of the sheep with ammonite horns. Even though the European Union recommends strict protection of the mouflon, it can be hunted in certain conditions. It is ill-equipped for extreme Alpine conditions, and its population levels may fluctuate with the severity of winter.

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  Architecture

  Village in Valbonnais

  Since the Middle Ages, Entraigues and Valbonnais have been the two major towns in the valley.

  The towns produce an impression of coherence, despite a wide variety of architecture.

  In Valbonnais, we can see, in particular, the castles and fortified manor houses with their impressive dimensions and well-ordered façades, with sculpted wooden doors made for the local notables.

  Another witness to the town’s history is the train station: from 1926 to 1950, Valbonnais had a meter-gauge railway with electric engines (La Mure – Corps line), with a line running to the cement works downstream, near Le Pont-du-Prêtre.