Andean Condor
The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a huge South American vulture, with a wingspan of up to about 3.2 meters, that soars over the Andes and the Pacific coast. It is among the largest flying birds.
The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a huge South American vulture, with a wingspan of up to about 3.2 meters, that soars over the Andes and the Pacific coast. It is among the largest flying birds.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Andean Condor in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Reptilia lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Soaring Without Flapping
Condors use rising air currents to glide for hours with little effort, searching for carcasses of livestock, guanacos and marine mammals. They can cover hundreds of kilometers a day.
Slow Breeders
A pair raises a single chick every second year, and the birds may live for 70 years or more. The slow reproduction makes populations vulnerable.
Lead and Poison
Condors are poisoned by lead from ammunition in carcasses and by baits laid for predators. New World vultures are only distantly related to the Old World vultures of Africa and Eurasia. See Bald Eagle.
Andean Condor at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Vultur gryphus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Cathartiformes |
| Family | Cathartidae |
| Field Guide group | Reptilia: Aves (Birds) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Giant high-Andes scavenger with a 3-meter wingspan, glossy black plumage, a fluffy white neck ruff, and a bare head topped in males by a fleshy dark-red comb (caruncle). |
| IUCN Red List status | Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2020 |
| Order | Cathartiformes |
| Wingspan | Up to about 3.2 meters |