Condor

Condors

Condor is the common name for two large American vultures, the Andean condor and the California condor. Both are among the largest living flying birds. The Andean condor has the larger wingspread, reaching about 10.5 feet; the wingspread of the California condor does not exceed about 9.5 feet. The California condor is somewhat heavier, weighing up to 31 pounds, male Andean condors weigh about 25 pounds.

Both condors have sooty-black body plumage and a large white area in the wing. The naked head of the Andean condor is dull red, and the males have a prominent fleshy comb on the forehead. A fluffy white ruff encircles the lower neck. California condors lack the comb, but the naked skin of the head of adults is bright yellow and red. The neck ruff is of long, pointed, black feathers.

Condors lay their single eggs on rock ledges or on cave floors. The young develop slowly, beginning to fly at about six months of age. Both species feed almost entirely on carrion; the Andean condor may occasionally attack wounded or newborn animals.

CALIFORNIA CONDOR

Up to about 10,000 years ago, California Condors ranged over much of North America, but by the 20th Century, the population occurred only in central and southern California and northern Mexico. Condors are among the rarest birds in the world, owing to loss of food supply, excessive shooting, lead poisoning, and other causes.

In 1987, there were only 21 California condors left in the wild. These few surviving condors were brought into captivity. A breeding program was begun in 1988, with the intent of raising sufficient numbers in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo and The San Diego Wild Animal Park to permit the return of condors to the wild in some appropriate areas.

In 1994, The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey was added as a third location for the breeding program. The first successful breeding of captive condors was accomplished in 1988. As more and more pairs reproduced successfully, the condor population has grown to over 150 today.

The goal of the project is to re-establish a self-sustaining population in the wild. Beginning in the 1990s, biologists initiated releases of captive-produced young condors into the wild in the species' former range at sites in California and Arizona.

Biologists from The Peregrine Fund are conducting the releases near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. These are the first California Condors to fly outside of California in 70 years. The success of the project can be demonstrated by the numbers. There are now more California Condors in the wild in Arizona than there were in the world in 1982. Courtship behavior is being displayed by some condors and breeding in the wild could occur in 2002 or 2003.

ANDEAN CONDOR

The great wing surface of Andean condors allows them to soar on rising air currents almost indefinitely. The birds are black with white patches on the wings and a white ruff around the neck. Their heads are naked, but the male has a fleshy comb. Males have brown eyes; females have garnet red eyes. They have been known to live more than 75 years in captivity.

The Andean Condor was once found in the Andes Mountains of South America from Venezuela to the islands of Tierra del Fuego in the Strait of Magellan. They are generally confined to areas where strong winds are available to support their soaring flight. These habitats include; deserts that produce strong thermals, high mountains with deflected winds off the steep slopes, and coasts where sea breezes deflect off dunes.

Condors are scavengers or carrion feeders. They soar aloft, a highly energy efficient method of hunting, watching for carcasses. They have excellent eyesight and watch the actions of other animals as clues to food. They are not equipped to hunt as their feet have blunt claws instead of the sharp talons of raptors. The beak is strong but is best adapted to tear meat that is already rotting. They clean their naked heads by scraping them along the ground to remove debris from their meals. Inland on the pampas or the slopes of the Andes, they feed on carcasses of farm animals or wild ungulates. On the coast they feed on the beached carcasses of marine mammals and raid sea bird colonies for eggs and nestlings.

The male begins his courtship display by drawing himself erect, fully extending his wings, and clicking his tongue, while the reddish skin of his neck becomes bright yellow. The female lays a single egg which both parents incubate for about 54-58 days. Fledging takes another 180 days so that a pair only breeds every other year under normal conditions. Parents continue to care for the fledgling for a full year.

The Andean Condor is officially listed as endangered, although it has greater numbers than its California relation. Biologists estimate that a few thousand birds remain in the wild, concentrated mostly along the southern portion of their historic range. Threats are illegal shooting, habitat disturbance, poisoning from lead shot in carcasses, or poison placed for mammalian predators. Thirty-nine Andean Condors reared in North American facilities have been reintroduced to the wild in Columbia and Venezuela. Early reports from the field indicate that some of these released birds have begun to breed. The work that preceded the attempt to breed California Condors in captivity, which has been very successful so far, was modeled on Andean Condors, from hand puppets that were used to feed the chicks through to the final release techniques.

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

References:

Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. and J. Sargatal. eds. 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Newton, I. ed. 1990. Birds of Prey. Facts on File, New York.

Swaringen, K., Wiese, R.J., Willis, K., and M. Hutchins eds. 1995. AZA Annual Report on Conservation and Science. American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Bethesda, MD.

Major support for The Peregrine Fund's California Condor project is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Burns Family Foundation, Patagonia, The Turner Foundation, Wallace Research Foundation, Jane Smith Turner Foundation, Globe Foundation, Phelps-Dodge, Kearney Foundation, Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Bank One, Sidney S. Byers Charitable Trust, Ten Times Ten Foundation, Salt River Project, and Arizona Public Service.

Links to other great condor sites:

http://www.peregrinefund.org/press/condview.html

http://natzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birdfacts/andeancondor.htm