CONDOR

California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) either of two species of large New World vultures (family Cathartidae)the Andean condor, Vultur gryphus, and the California condor, Gymnogyps californianus (see photograph). They are two of the largest flying birds, each about 130 cm (50 inches) long and 10 kg (22 pounds) in weight. The Andean condor has slightly longer wings, reaching 3 m (10 feet) or more. It is a black bird with a white ruff and bare pinkish head, neck, and crop. The male has a large caruncle, or fleshy protuberance, on the forehead. The species ranges from the Pacific coast of South America to the high Andes, frequenting open country and feeding on dead animals, including quantities of fish. It breeds (every other year) at altitudes above 3,000 m (10,000 feet). Eggs laid are two in number, white, and about 10 cm (4 inches) long. California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) The California condor (see photograph), an endangered species, is nearly black, with white wing linings, bare yellow head, and red neck and crop. In the mid-1980s there were fewer than two dozen of the birds alive, and the few known survivors living outside of zoos were trapped and taken into similar protective captivity. By the mid-1990s captive breeding flocks had increased the population to more than 100, about a dozen of which were being monitored in the wilds of southern California. Prior to these conservation efforts, the birds foraged in open land near the coast, preferring fresh carrion. They bred every other year, laying a single egg per pair, greenish or bluish in colour, about 10 cm long.