Find out what are the characteristics of the California condor, in this post you will find the necessary information about this scavenger bird, taking into account its diet, habitat, mating forms and much more. Do not miss it!
Description of the California Condor
The Californian condor represents a large bird, taking into account that it is considered one of the largest birds in North America, however, it is a bird that has been extinct for some years. However, a specimen was found, and through it it was reinserted into the natural ecosystem again.
It is considered one of the Types of birds birds of prey, which contains a particular design, especially because of the peculiarity of its head. As for its wings, these are usually elongated, in addition to this, it contains a tail that is not usually completely noticeable since it is somewhat small. As for the tonality of their feathers, these tend to be striking thanks to the color they present, this being a dark red tone.
The part that surrounds the body is usually a part of your body that is usually smaller in size compared to the rest of the body structure. It is usually covered by feathers in lighter shades, including some white for example, this in almost the entire body, especially on the inside of the wings.
It should be noted that in the condor's youth it is usually gray, however with the passing of time, as they get older they progressively change both their plumage and their coloration. In addition to this, it is important to highlight that, like the Condor of the andes, the Andean condor also tends to change the coloration of the upper part of the head, thanks to the different mood swings that it frequently faces.
We should also note that in most cases, the California condor tends to be larger than females of this species. It is taken into account that at least these can reach about 3.5 meters. As for the regular weight of these types of birds, it is approximately between 8 and 16 kilos.
California Condor Distribution
Unlike the Andean condor, the california condor It has a specific place where the largest number of this type of bird is usually found, it is in North America. However, as we have mentioned before, long before the condor managed to become extinct, some specimens were found, which were used to prevent the extinction from being effective.
It is usually found in places very well provided with vegetation, such as savannahs, some types of forests, among other places. It is present in the US in Canadian territory, and on Mexican soil. However, the largest number of specimens occurred in California. For this reason it is given the name that characterizes it.
At this time, the existence of some copies of the California condor thanks to the reintroduction of these animals in nature, a fact that made it possible for the bird to remain until today, otherwise the condor would be in danger of extinction
California Condor Behavior
We can limit that this is a type of animal that mostly likes to stay alone, it is important to mention that it is not a type of bird that migrates to other horizons, the proof of this is that although sometimes it is forced to look for food in an area far from home, it will return to its place.
It is an extremely stealthy animal and at the same time silent, even in its hunting moments, it is extremely strategic, so it does not emit any sound on any of the occasions that it tends to face. One of the characteristics that define it is that it spends most of its time cleaning its chest, and its feathers, especially when it has fed.
But why does he carry out this action? Simple, since the food they eat is generally bodies in an advanced state of decomposition, these foods tend to release certain amounts of toxicity, so the condor prepares itself, and maintains a constant cleaning of its body. In turn, they also usually take some baths in lakes, or waterfalls near their habitat.
Food
As we have mentioned before the California condor, tends to feed on carrion. That is, bodies that are decomposed. Usually, it tends to undertake a flight of at least 260 kilometers in order to find food, it should be noted that this animal does not have a really good sense of smell, therefore rotten food does not affect their sense of smell, and they eat with pleasure.
Thanks to this quality, of not having a good sense of smell, we must emphasize that the condor, for the most part, tends to help itself with its sight to find some carrion. On many occasions, it tends to guide itself through other animals, or scavenging birds, which are also gathered in the search for it to also take advantage of and eat the carrion found by others.
It should be noted that the California condor, and any other type of carrion birds, will always tend to prefer carrion instead of some live prey, this is a natural mechanism that they possess. They mostly feed on other animals, such as deer, pigs, even whales.
Reproduction
Like many birds, the California condor It is a type of animal that only mates with a single bird of its kind. This animal tends to initiate sexually after approximately six years of age. Regarding courtship, it is the male who initiates this action, which is carried out through a flight which is executed with the intention of impressing the female.
If the female likes the male, this will allow her to execute the act of mating, through which she has as a result, a unique and exclusive egg, which has a bluish coloration, it is cared for for about two months. about. Once the egg bursts, the little bird is cared for by the parents, at six months of age, the chicken has the ability to fly, months later, it can already start its way to live its life apart.
endangered california condor
Currently there are about 100 or more California condors, it can be said that very few survive. Therefore, it could also be said that this animal is in a condition of extinction. One of the main threats, without a doubt, is their indiscriminate hunting.
Other threats are the daily actions carried out by the human being, taking into account that natural spaces are invaded, and their habitat, tends to be greatly affected, for which many specimens die, due to the precarious conditions they commonly face.
Regarding the completely natural causes that tend to affect the permanence of the California condor today, we could mention the fact of reproduction, this represents a really important effect that contributes greatly to the extinction of the condor, as we mentioned earlier. Since there are very few eggs that they lay, and even the amount of time with which this action is carried out is too long, obviously this fact would directly affect the permanence of this bird in nature.
Other causes that contribute to this aspect have to do with the slowness that they have to achieve reproduction, and that in the first years of life, the species tends to delay the act of reproductive action in a timely manner, since it is at 6 years of life this officially begins with reproduction. So there is that large amount of time where there is a large loss as far as procreation is concerned.
However, not all is lost, many of the condors in general can have a long life, if by chance it is not interrupted by some external agent that ends their permanence and natural survival. In general, these tend to live approximately 80 years. This fact in certain cases is favorable, since in all that time, it can be said that the bird comes to procreate a large number of times and therefore leaves a large number of offspring behind.
However, this does not represent the central problem about the extinction of the bird, it should be noted that as we mentioned before, man is the main factor in this overwhelming fact. But surely you are wondering why this is? Well, continue reading, and you will know some factors that have been recorded in monitoring these effects achieved by humans.
Other problems that this bird tends to face regularly come from the fact that humanity often cannot bear the presence of these scavenger birds in the vicinity of urban areas, which tend to contain certain types of garbage and waste that is mostly of great taste to these birds.
Therefore, the condor tends to be poisoned, through some type of bait, that is, through some decomposed animal that has been poisoned to later be used as bait so that they ingest it and thus die and disappear from the around.
In the case of those areas where the animal is found near a herd of cattle, many of the owners of this cattle tend to progressively poison the California condor. In order to prevent it from wandering around waiting for some dead cattle. These are some of the most relevant factors that we can mention regarding the danger of extinction of this bird, so characteristic and important for the balance of our nature.