California Condor Bird

Facts about California condor vulture. "Scientific name for California condor bird is Gymnogyps californianus". California condor bird is a Gymnogyps type of vulture that comes from the Cathartidae family. These vultures are native to North America. The California condor bird is the largest bird variety in North America, and became vanished into the wild, but it has been reintroduced in the southern part of Utah and the northern Arizona, the coastal mountains of southern and central California, and northern parts of Baja California. Even though other fossil birds are recognized, the California condor bird is the only surviving vulture of the genus Gymnogyps. These outstanding gliders travel extensively to eat the carcasses of pigs, deer, cattle, whales, sea lions, and other mammals. California Condor vultures are so big that they can be misguided for a small, remote airplane, which possibly happens more frequently than they are misguided for other varieties of bird.

Features of California condor bird

California condor bird is a big size vulture and when it is matured, it attains the maximum body length, ranging from 46 1/8 inches to 52 7/8 inches (117 to 134 cm), with the body mass that ranges from 246.9 pounds to 349.2 pounds (112 to 158.4 kg). The California condor birds have a wingspan between 8 1/4 feet and 9 7/8 feet (20.8 to 25 cm), and they have the most extensive wingspan of all North American birds.

Adult California Condor birds have a black-colored body, with outstanding white patches beneath the wings. The naked neck and head of the bird are yellow-orange in color. Immature birds boast dark color head, gray color neck, and mottled grayish in place of clear white color beneath the wings. An adult California Condor will attain its original body color when it reaches the age of 6 to 8 years.

The center toe of the foot of the California Condor is significantly elongated, and the back one is only a little more developed. All the toes have talons that are straight and dull, and are therefore more tailored to walking than gripping. The wings of the bird are extremely long and broad, with elongated primary feathers, offering a fingered appearance to the wingtips. During the flight, the body of the bird is noticeably bulky, the head looks small, and the tail is small and broad.

The California Condor birds live in coniferous forests, rock-strewn shrub land and oak savannas. They are largely found close to cliffs or big trees, which they use as nesting locations. Individual condors have a vast range and have been recognized to travel a maximum distance of 250 km looking for carrion.

California Condor birds search for carrion in environments, ranging from Pacific seashores to mountain woodlands and meadows. They build their home in caves on the faces of cliffs in the mountains at a height of 6,000 feet (1828 meters). Their body size makes take-off tricky, leading them to make use of high perches to make the takeoff easy.

Diet of California condor bird

California Condors mostly feed on big, earthly animal carcasses such as goats, deer, sheep, horses, donkeys, pigs, bears, cougars, or cattle. Alternatively, they may also feed on the bodies of smaller creatures, such as coyotes or rabbits, aquatic animals such as California Sea Lions and whales, or salmon. These birds are irregular eaters in the wild, habitually going for between some days to weeks without eating, and then gorging themselves feed on 2.2 pounds to 3.3 pounds (.99 to 1.49 kg) of meat straight away.

Behavior of California condor bird

California Condor vultures are masterful soarers that seldom flap their wings. They have a hard, heavy look in the air, and do not get battered by the wind similar to the manner that smaller soaring birds do. The California condor birds are social birds that form groups at the bathing spots, around carcasses and at roosts.

The average lifespan of the California Condor vulture ranges from 45 years to 80 years.

California condor bird is an endangered species and the success of a captive breeding program has enabled more than fifty California condor birds to be released into the wild.