This months Creepy Bird is the California Condor which was recommended by my sister Joanie who is an avid birder in Washington State. This bird is MASSIVE! Massively UGLY that is. Well, it is pretty huge in size as well. But make no mistake, this is one ugly beast and rightly qualifies for the Creepy Bird of the Month.
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is the largest, and rarest terrestrial bird in North America. It has a body length of 43 - 52 inches, a wingspan up to 9 1/2 feet, and weighs 18 - 23 pounds. Soaring over wilderness crags, feeding on carcasses of large dead animals, reproducing very slowly, it was not well suited to survival in modern-day southern California. Headed toward extinction in the 1980s, the last birds were brought in from the wild in 1987, to be bred in captivity for eventual release into the wild again. The captive breeding program turned out to be surprisingly successful, and flocks of released condors are surviving in several areas of California and in the region of the Grand Canyon.
It is black in color and sports a bald head with very few feathers. The color of the head varies from white to reddish purple. The bare head is an adaptation for hygiene since they eat dead and rotting meat and must, for the most part, stick their heads into the carcasses to feed.
Condors nest in a cave or cleft among boulders on a cliff or hillside. The female will lay the single egg directly on the floor of the cave. The egg is incubated for 54 - 58 days. The young condor learns to fly in about 6 months, but will stay with its parents for several more months. The extended breeding season prevents condors from breeding yearly. California Condors usually become sexually mature at 6 years of age.
California Condors are social birds and they spend a great deal of time feeding and roosting together.
No comments:
Post a Comment