Condor

I

Introduction

Condor, common name for two species of large vultures, the Andean condor and the California condor. Condors are among the rarest birds in the world—their populations have declined dramatically due to a variety of factors, including overhunting and lead poisoning. Like other vultures, condors have sharply hooked bills and strong feet with long, sharp claws. Unlike other birds, however, condors lack a syrinx (voice box), and can utter only soft hissing sounds. Condors will sometimes attack living prey, but they usually feed on animal carcasses.

II

Andean Condor

The Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world. It grows to a length of 132 cm (52 in), has a wingspan of almost 3 m (10 ft), and weighs about 11 kg (25 lb). It has a black body, a collar of soft white feathers around its neck, and white patches at the base of its wings. Its naked head and neck are wrinkled and dark gray, and the male has a fleshy wattle (fold of bare skin) growing from its forehead and neck. Andean condors inhabit the Andes Mountains in South America from Venezuela and Colombia to the Strait of Magellan, and usually live about 2,150 to 4,900 m (7,000 to 16,000 ft) above sea level. Andean condors build nests on rock ledges, and they normally lay two eggs every other year. Their young mature slowly and are unable to fly for about a year after birth.

Many South American people believe that the organs and bones of the Andean condor have medicinal powers. As a result, throughout the 20th century the Andean condor was overhunted almost to the point of extinction. In 1973 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the Andean condor as an endangered species. Through its Division of International Conservation, the FWS helps conservation and natural resource managers in South America develop conservation programs to protect the bird. Despite these efforts, Andean condor populations continue to decline in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru.

III

California Condor

Only slightly smaller than the Andean condor, the California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. It grows to a length of 140 cm (55 in) and weighs as much as 10 kg (23 lb). The wingspread of the California condor reaches to 3 m (9.5 ft). It has a black body with gray forewings, an orange or yellow naked head and neck, and a neck ruff of black feathers. The male has a pink neck wattle. In the wild, California condors usually nest in a cave, and they typically lay one egg every other year. Young leave the nest around six months of age, although they may remain dependent on their parents for food for more than a year.

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California condors were once fairly abundant along the Pacific Coast from Oregon to southern California. Largely because of the spread of human settlements their numbers dwindled, and by the mid-20th century only a few birds remained in California. A variety of causes led to the California condor’s decline. They were hunted extensively. Pesticide residues in the environment caused the condor’s eggshells to thin, and parents accidentally crushed their eggs while keeping them warm. In addition, California condors developed lead poisoning when they fed on the remains of animals killed by lead bullets.

By 1987 only 21 condors remained in the wild, and that year those few surviving condors were brought into captivity. The Los Angeles Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, established a condor-breeding program with the intent of raising sufficient numbers in captivity to permit the return of condors to the wild in some areas.

As a result of these captive-breeding and reintroduction efforts, by 2007 the condor population had grown to about 300 individuals, including about 150 living in the wild. Scientists hope that more captive-bred condors will reproduce successfully in natural habitats. To provide further protection for the birds, and in response to continued cases of lead poisoning, in 2008 California banned the use of lead bullets within condor habitats.

Scientific classification: Condors belong to the family Cathartidae. The Andean condor is classified as Vultur gryphus and the California condor as Gymnogyps californianus.

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