The California condor is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah, the coastal mountains of California, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps, although four extinct members of the genus are also known. The species is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as Critically Endangered, and similarly considered Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.
Region
Western North America
Typical Environment
Today it persists in reintroduced populations in coastal and interior California (e.g., Big Sur and Pinnacles), northern Arizona and southern Utah (Grand Canyon–Zion region), and northern Baja California, Mexico. It favors open landscapes with cliffs, rugged canyons, and large trees or rock ledges for roosting and nesting. Along the coast it forages over shorelines and marine terraces, while inland it uses chaparral, oak woodland, and desert rims. Nest sites are usually in caves, crevices, or large tree hollows with minimal disturbance. Historically the species ranged much more widely across western North America.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 3500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The California condor is the largest land bird in North America, with a wingspan approaching 3 meters. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 but has been reintroduced in parts of California, Arizona–Utah, and Baja California. Lead poisoning from ingested spent ammunition remains its primary threat. It reproduces very slowly, typically laying a single egg and breeding only every other year.
Frederick Polydore Nodder's illustration accompanying George Shaw's 1797 species description
A California condor skull
Fossil of the extinct species Gymnogyps amplus from the La Brea Tar Pits
An adult in flight. Tracking tags can be seen on both wings.
The upper body and head
California oak savanna on the east flank of Sonoma Mountain
Preening condors
An adult with a 30-day-old chick in a cave nest near the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, California, U.S.
Juveniles feeding
A juvenile in the Grand Canyon, with its numbered tag prominent.
A condor chick being fed by a condor head feeding puppet
The California condor once numbered only 22 birds, but conservation measures have raised that number to over 500 today.
A USFWS sign at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge showing the site's association with the California Condor Recovery Program
Pinnacles National Park, a release site
Zooniverse icon for Condor Watch
Condor on California's state quarter
Temperament
social and wary
Flight Pattern
soaring glider
Social Behavior
California condors are highly social, often roosting and foraging in groups and interacting at carcasses. They form long-term pair bonds and have slow reproductive cycles, with both parents sharing incubation and long post-fledging care. Nests are typically placed in caves, rock crevices, or large tree cavities, with one egg per breeding attempt.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
They lack a true song and are generally quiet, producing low hisses, grunts, and bill clacks. Vocalizations are used mainly in close social interactions and at carcasses.
