California Condor

Gymnogyps californianus


STANFORD LOCATIONS:

(The campus is within the historical range of these birds.)


  
Nest
Location
Nest
Type
Eggs
Mating System
Dev.
Parental Care
Primary &
2ndary Diet
Foraging
Strategy
NO NEST
F
I: 42-50 DAYS
SEMIALTRICIAL 1
1
MONOG
F:180 DAYS
MF
BREEDING: Mountains, to moderate elevation, esp brushy or rocky outcrops with ample ledge and cliff nest sites. 0 or 1 brood
DISPLAYS: In courtship, male faces female, wings outstretched, tail dragging, and approaches her with his head bent exposing back of neck.
NEST: On inaccessible cliff, cave floor or cavity in giant sequoia. Egg laid on bed of coarse gravel, with few twigs, leaves, etc. Most perennial.
EGGS: Greenish-white/bluish-white. 4.3" (110 mm).
DIET: Dead red meat, salmon; does not eat most birds or squirrels. Group of 4 known to drag 100 +-pound body of grizzly 200 yards.
CONSERVATION: Winter resident. Endangered Species; only recently returned to the wild.
NOTES: Although usu breed only every other year, capable of successfully nesting annually; rarely do so but can lay replacement clutch within breeding season. Long-term pair bond. Likely average output is 2 young every 3 years. By fledging, wing span 8', weight 20 pounds, length 46", but able to fly no more than a few yards; dependent on adult for 6 months postfledging. Soar to 15,000'.
ESSAYS: Conservation of the California Condor; Birds and the Law; Variation in Clutch Sizes; Coloniality.
REFERENCES: Ogden, 1985b; Snyder and Hamber, 1985; Snyder et al., 1986; Wilbur and Jackson, 1983.

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Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).