California Condor

California Condor Temporal range: Early Pleistocene to Recent
File:Gymnogyps californianus -San Diego Zoo-8a.png
At San Diego Zoo, USA
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Inopinaves
Clade:	Afroaves
Superorder:	Accipitrimorphae
Order:	Cathartiformes
Family:	Cathartidae
Genus:	Gymnogyps Lesson, 1842
Species:	G. californianus
Binomial name
Gymnogyps californianus (Shaw, 1797)
File:CaliforniaCondorRangeMap.gif
Synonyms
Genus-level: Antillovultur Template:Taxobox authority Pseudogryphus Template:Taxobox authority Species-level: Vultur californianus Template:Taxobox authority Gymnogyps amplus Template:Taxobox authority

The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. This condor inhabits northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps.

The plumage is black with patches of white on the underside of the wings and the head is largely bald, with skin color ranging from gray on young birds to yellow and bright orange on breeding adults. Its huge 3.0 m (9.8 ft) wingspan is the largest of any North American bird, and its weight of up to 12 kg (26 lb) makes it nearly equal the Trumpeter Swan, the largest among native North American bird species. The condor is a scavenger and eats large amounts of carrion. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.

Condor numbers dramatically declined in the 20th century due to poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction. A conservation plan was put in place by the United States government that led to the capture of all 22 remaining wild condors in 1987. These surviving birds were bred at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers rose through captive breeding and, beginning in 1991, condors have been reintroduced into the wild. The California Condor is one of the world's rarest bird species: as of May 2012, population counts put the number of known condors at 405, including 226 living in the wild and 179 in captivity. The condor is a significant bird to many Californian Native American groups and plays an important role in several of their traditional myths.

Other names

Description

Similar species

Behaviour

Diet

Calls

Reproduction

Distribution/habitat

Gallery

A condor in flight.

A condor with a chick.

References

External links

Projects
This article is part of Project Aves, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each bird, including made-up species. This article is part of Project Cathartiformes, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each New World vulture, including made-up species. This article is part of Project Bird Genera, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each genus, including made-up genera. This article is part of Project Monotypic Genera, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each monotypic genera, including made-up species.