We get many questions regarding the names (or ID’s) of California condors. “What’s that one’s name?” “What language is it and what does it mean?” “Why did the one I saw at the Grand Canyon have a number instead of a name?” For all intents and purposes, it really doesn’t matter what we call each condor; they could really care less! But, we, as humans, like to label each being and object, hence the creation and use of Taxonomy, the science of labeling and naming every living thing on earth.

                In the California Condor Recovery Program, a condor is assigned a name or identification number for several reasons. First, the staff of keepers and biologists needs a way to identify individual birds to keep track of medical histories and behavioral patterns. Second, a name can link people to a bird, or perhaps the entire species, and the cause of the Recovery Program. Rather than simply seeing a big anonymous bird, the observer can connect with an individual, which often leads to a deeper appreciation of the bird and its plight. As is often said, we care most about that which we know. Lastly, a name can associate the condor with the people that inhabit or inhabited the historical range of the condor. There is much history to the Recovery Program and we are careful not to isolate that from the objectives before us.

                Many of the condor names you may hear or read about are from different western Native American languages. The majority of the names are in particular dialects of Chumash from near the Santa Barbara area. Other languages represented are Kumeyaay, Pomo, Maidu, Bodega Miwok, Karok, Klamath, among others. The general rule is that if the condor has a Native American name, it was raised in captivity, either a youngster brought in from the wild or a chick hatched from an egg in a breeding facility.

                Some readers are familiar with condors that have a name like AC-2 or AC-8. These were some of the field identifications used in the 1980’s to study and monitor the condors in the early years of the Recovery Program. The AC in those names stands for Adult Condor and the number indicates the order in which each bird received identification. For example, AC-8 means “Adult Condor #8”, the eighth condor to be given wing tags and a radio transmitter. The only exception to this loose rule is Tama-Yawut (see blog from 7 April 2008).  Tama was a wild condor in the 1980’s that was known by a name instead of an AC designation.

                Regardless of whether a condor is known by a name or a number at any particular breeding facility or release site, ALL condors are given a studbook number. This identification supercedes any local IDs by which the bird may be known. The studbook keeper assigns the studbook number when he or she receives all of the current year’s breeding information from all of the breeding facilities and release sites. The numbers are issued chronologically; so the larger the number indicates a younger bird. The last studbook number issued for this year was 497. When you see a condor flying in the wild, look for the number printed on its wing tags. The number will either be the last one or two digits of its studbook number. For example, a wing tag that reads “19” will indicate that the bird is either Condor #19, #119, #219, #319, or #419. The third digit is not printed on the tags because it is often too difficult to read three digits on the tag from the ground. In short, the studbook number is a consistent identification that holds true throughout the entire California Condor Recovery Program, regardless if it is given a name or a number at the facility at which it hatches.

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