The California Condor is considered the rarest bird to exist in the United States. Condors are one of the largest flying birds. The California Condors are know for their enormous black wings, because when it soars the wings spread more than nine feet tip to tip. They also have an extraordinary eyesight, and an inquisitive and engaging intelligence.

At one time, there were thousands of these marvelous creatures across the western United States and into Mexico. However, as people moved west, they were shot, poisoned, captured, had their eggs collected, and their food supply was cut short. Eventually, the California condors could no longer survive in the places they called home for many years. By the late 1900s the remaining individuals were limited to the mountainous parts of southern California. Though they were at risk of becoming extinct in the 1900’s, there are still about 300 condors thriving in the wilds of California. It has since been illegal to hunt and kill condors.

Condors can soar and glide for hours without beating their wings, awesome right? After rising thousand of feet overhead on air currents, California condors will glide for long distances, sometimes for more than 55 miles per hour. From the air, they search for dead animals such as deer and cattle. Due to the harsh conditions they had to survive on, they adapted to feeding only on carrion (dead animals that they find).

Fun fact! In the 1970s, scientist began conducting studies on the remaining condors to try and prevent them from becoming extinct. It took many decades of experiments and entrapments, but they managed to increase the population of the condor from  27 birds in 1987 to 161 by 1999. As of 2023, the total  population is reported to be 537.