With a wingspan of up to 9 1/2 feet and its penchant for soaring, there is no denying the majesty and grace of the California condor. They are symbolic of the San Diego Zoo’s conservation efforts and bi-national partnerships. Soaring silently over the landscape, condors remind us of the profound beauty and wildness in nature. They show us how human activities can quickly eliminate a species, but drastic science-based collaborations can help to bring them back from the abyss of extinction.

Condors deserve our respect and our best conservation efforts. Many readers know this creature in-depth, but some may not know just how fast and how high a condor can fly or how many eggs are in a clutch or the origin of the condor’s scientific name. Perhaps this lofty bird deserves a moment of our time to teach us some condor basics…and some really cool tidbits about their lifestyle.

DIET: The California Condor’s diet consists of medium and large-sized dead mammals like cattle, sheep, deer, and horses in any state of decay. Condors may travel several hundred miles in search of food.

REPRODUCTION: Condors nest in a cave or cleft among boulders on a cliff or hillside. The female will lay the single egg directly on the floor of the cave. The egg is incubated for 54 - 58 days. The young condor learns to fly in about 6 months, but will stay with its parents for several more months. The extended “childhood” of young birds prevents adult condors from breeding annually. California condors usually become sexually mature at 6 years of age.

NAME DERIVATION: The scientific name Gymnogyps californianus comes from the Greek word gymnast, meaning naked, and refers to the head; gyps is Greek for a vulture; and the Latinized word for California indicates the bird’s range. The name condor is from the Spanish word cuntur, and is the Inca name given to the Andean condor. California condors have also been called a California vulture.

Cool Facts

• California Condors are social birds and they spend a great deal of time feeding and roosting together.
• They were originally classified in the same genus as the Andean condor (V. gryphus), but, due to the Andean condor’s slightly different markings, slightly longer wings, and tendency to actually kill small animals to eat, the California condor has now been placed in its own monotypic genus.
• They have been known to fly up to speeds of 90 km/h (55 mph) and as high as 4,600 meters (15,000 ft). They prefer to roost on high perches from which they can launch without any major wing-flapping effort. Often, these birds are seen soaring near rock cliffs, using thermals to aid them in keeping aloft.
• The California Condor normally dominates other scavengers and usually does not hesitate to take a carcass away from smaller species. The exception is when a golden eagle is present. Although the condor weighs about twice as much as an eagle, the superior talons of the eagle command respect.
• The California condor lays only one egg in a brood. The young is dependent upon the parents for more than one year, and consequently condor pairs usually breed only in every other year.
• Young condors do not breed until they are six to eight years old, about the time they acquire full adult coloration.

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