Related to the Teratorns---vulture-like birds of the Pleistocene era---the California condor soars over long distances during the day and occupies a large home-base territory. The bird has black feathers, a neck ruffle and a bald, pink head. Condors are scavengers, and are communal in their eating habits, gathering together to feed off the carcasses of mammals and sharing nesting sites with each other. After eating, the condor cleans his head by rubbing it on grass or brush and bathes frequently.
Even though the Andean condor weighs between 20 and 26 lbs., its wing span allows it to fly long distances. Once found in the Andes Mountains stretching from Venezuela to the Strait of Magellan, the endangered condor is limited to areas where strong air currents support its flight - in the mountains and off the coast. Like its North American cousin, the Andean condor is a carrion feeder. The birds are black with white markings on the wings and around the neck. Their heads are bald, like the California condor, but instead of being pink, their heads are black with a comb.
The California condor does not reproduce until it is between six and eight years old, and then lays one egg every other year. If the egg is destroyed or removed, the female will lay another and possibly a third. These birds do not build nests, but depend on natural rock cavities or caves. Like the California condor, the Andean condor hatches a single offspring every other year. Both types of condors feed their young by regurgitating; both males and females share feeding responsibility.
American and European fur traders arriving in California during the nineteenth century inadvertently caused the California condors to die off when the birds ingested poison lead buck shot left in the remains of carcasses. The settlers were responsible for destroying the natural habitat and poaching the bird. Starting in 1982, with only 22 condors left, the San Diego Zoo Global started the first propagation program for California condors in captivity. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, the National Audubon Society and the Los Angeles Zoo also participate. The Andean condor is also listed as endangered, although its numbers have not been as severely diminished.
