Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 46.1–52.8 in
117–134 cm - Wingspan
- 109.1 in
277 cm - Weight
- 246.9–349.2 oz
7000–9900 g
Other Names
- Condor de Californie (French)
- Condor californiano, Buitre (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The California Condor normally dominates other scavengers and usually does not hesitate to take a carcass away from smaller species. The exception is when a Golden Eagle is present. Although the condor weighs about twice as much as an eagle, the superior talons of the eagle command respect.
- The California Condor lays only one egg in a brood. The young is dependent upon the parents for more than one year, and consequently condor pairs usually breed only in every other year.
- Young condors do not breed until they are six to eight years old, about the time they acquire full adult coloration.
Habitat
Mountains
Nesting habitats have ranged from scrubby chaparral to forested montane regions subject to winter snowfalls. Most foraging documented in relatively open grassland regions.
Food
Carrion
Carrion of large mammals.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale blue-green bleaching to white.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless, covered in white down with eyes open.
Nest Description
Pile of loose debris on cliff ledge.
Nest Placement
Cliff
Behavior
Soaring
Soars over large distances and detects carrion by sight.
Conservation
Critically Endangered
Severely endangered. All nine remaining wild condors were captured in 1987. A captive breeding program has been successful in producing young, and condors have been reintroduced into California and Arizona. Wild condors are breeding, but have not yet been successful in producing young surviving to breeding age. Details on the captive breeding and reintroduction project can be found at the Peregrine Fund web site and at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service web site
Credits
- Snyder, N. F. R., and N. J. Schmitt. 2002. California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). In The Birds of North America, No. 610 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.