I am an enormous bird. I can weigh up to
33 pounds (15 kilograms); males are much larger than females. My body length can
be of up to 100 inches. When I open my wings, they can reach a 3-meter long
wingspan. I am mostly black, but my wings have white patches. Males have a
distinctive white collar, which females don’t have. I have a wrinkled, long neck
and a bare grayed head. My bill is
large, hooked, and ivory in color. My feet are very similar to a turkey’s; they
are slightly webbed and they are completely incapable of holding on to large
animals.
Habitat
Andean condors usually live in the mountains of South American, in the Andes, and that is why my name is Andean condor. I live all throughout the Western coast of the continent, all the way from Venezuela to the Patagonia. I am rare in Venezuela and Colombia. I am found in the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, but today I am the most common in in northwest Patagonia, along with other 300 individuals. In the early 1800’s, I was seen frequently along the entire Andes, but thanks to human activity, that doesn’t happen anymore.
I live mostly in high alpine areas up to 5,000 m in elevation. I inhabit open grasslands with little or no forest, which allows me to spot food easily from high up in the air. Although it is rare, sometimes I also live in lowland deserts in Chile and Peru, and along the coast.
I live mostly in high alpine areas up to 5,000 m in elevation. I inhabit open grasslands with little or no forest, which allows me to spot food easily from high up in the air. Although it is rare, sometimes I also live in lowland deserts in Chile and Peru, and along the coast.
Diet
I am a vulture, so I eat primarily carrion, or dead animals. Unlike other bird, we feed in groups. There is a social hierarchy in place as we eat, but usually there are no serious fights between us to establish dominance. I have relatively weak claws, so I do not hunt, except in the case of an animal that is already heavily wounded and almost dead. However, I do have a very strong beak, which allows me to feed and scratch even the toughest of carcasses. I have excellent eyesight, so I can spot my food from high up in the air. I don’t rush into meals immediately; I can wait up to 5 days before eating them. When I decide to feed, my long, muscular neck allows me to tunnel into my prey quickly and later tear flesh from it easily. I also raid nests for eggs and sometimes, even chicks. My diet consists mainly of native animals, as well as cattle in nearby farms. Peruvian condors also migrate to the coast from December to January, where we feed on dead sea lions and seabirds. Scavenging birds, such as me, consume their prey without actually swallowing when it is abundant, causing their crop (portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion) to bulge and become very large and inflated. If my crop is completely expanded, it probably means I have ingested up to 1.4 kilograms of meat. After eating, I scratch my head and beak on the ground to remove any reamins of food.
For more information about the eating habits of condors, click here to watch a video.
For more information about the eating habits of condors, click here to watch a video.
Reproduction
Andean Condors have a very slow reproduction rate. Without human intervention, we do not begin to breed until we are six or seven years old. We can live up to 50 years, and we never cease to mate throughout our lives. However, we only mate once every year or two, and produce a single offspring, which in many cases doesn’t reach maturity. We prefer to breed at elevations of 3000 to 5000 m. Courtship rituals include hissing, stretching and revealing the neck, which becomes inflated, extending wings, and dancing. Females deposit one or two eggs during February and March on inaccessible ledges of rock or cliffs. Both parents incubate the egg and it hatches after 54 to 58 days. If by any chance the egg or the chick were lost, we lay another egg to replace it.
Hatchings are protected by their vigilant parents, who react with aggression towards any animal that may be a threat to the chick, like birds of prey. The young chicks able to fly when they are 6 months of age, but they continue to live with their parents until they are two years of age because by then, they have been replaced with a new chick.
For more information on the general characteristics of condors, click here.
Hatchings are protected by their vigilant parents, who react with aggression towards any animal that may be a threat to the chick, like birds of prey. The young chicks able to fly when they are 6 months of age, but they continue to live with their parents until they are two years of age because by then, they have been replaced with a new chick.
For more information on the general characteristics of condors, click here.