LIVE WEBCAM WITH CONDORS IN BIG SUR

More info: The California condor is North America’s largest bird. It has an unmistakable look – with a head both ugly and beautiful at the same time – the baldness is a hygienic adaptation to eating dead and rotting meat, where it has to stick its head inside the carcass to feed. The neck colour can change noticeably and is a way of communicating as well as showing the birds emotional state. Condors spend a lot of time grooming, preening and keeping feathers well arranged and will bathe at water holes to remove dust and food debris.

California condors are monogamous with pairs staying together for life and breed only every two years. Nesting sites are usually in rocky crevices or caves in cliffs. A single egg is laid between February and May with both parents incubating it for 55 to 60 days. The chick fledges 6 months after hatching but will remain dependent upon its parent for food for several months more. Adult plumage is only attained at 5 to 6 years and reproductive maturity at 8 years.