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Condor Facts

 

• California condors communicate by grunting and hissing. They do not have vocal cords so they make these sounds by forcing air through their bodies.

• California condors inflate air sacs in their neck when agitated or excited. This makes them appear larger and more intimidating

• California condors reveal their emotions by changing their skin color.

• California condors sometimes regurgitate their stomach contents when startled or scared.

• California condors feed in a group where a strict dominance hierarchy is followed. Dominant birds usually eat first and take the choicest parts of the carcass. On average, condors consume two to three pounds of meat each time they eat.

• California condors have powerful beaks. Their beaks are so powerful they can pierce the hide of a horse. They use their beak to touch, feel, and explore their surrounding. Sometimes condors use their beak to make better roosting and nesting sites.

• Unlike eagles and hawks, California condors do not have talons. Condor nails are more like toenails.

• To help reduce core body temperature California condors defecate on their legs. This behavior is known as urohydrosis.

• Genetically, California condors are more closely related to storks than to old world vultures.

• If an egg breaks or is preyed upon, a California condor pair will often produce another egg in four to five weeks this is known as "double clutching". In captivity, pairs may even "triple clutch" in one season.

• It may take one week for a California condor chick to emerge.

• California condor chicks are hatched with their eyes open.

• Oregon used to be part of the condor’s range. Native Americans used the image of the Thunderbird in art and in myths. Explorers Lewis and Clark as well as David Douglas recorded sightings of the huge birds in Oregon along the Columbia River.

• Of the 12 condors coming to Oregon, six will come from the Los Angeles Zoo, five from the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and one from the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise. The condors from California will arrive on two separate, commercial flights while the condor from Boise will be driven.

• Six condors are male and six female, with some already established as breeding pairs. The other condors will be paired once they arrive in Oregon. The youngest pairs may take up to three years to begin breeding.

• Flight cages at the breeding facility are 30 feet high, 30 feet wide and 50 feet long. Each flight cage is attached to an indoor shelter where the condors will feed, nest and roost. Eventually, fledgling condors will have a larger flight area to prepare them for release into the wild.

• To start, the condors will raise their own chicks. Eventually keepers hope pairs will produce two eggs per year—the first taken and raised by keepers, the second raised by the condors.