Condor Numbers
Giorgina Makara
Below is the population information on the California Condors, compiled by our partners at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as of December 31, 2022. For more comprehensive information about condor recovery check out their webpage. All California Condor flocks are part of the same metapopulation (small, geographically separated, but similar populations). All information provided here is compiled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from the many CA Condor recovery partners.
For details about individual birds, check out CondorSpotter.com which has the wing tags and information on all of the U.S. free-flying California Condor flocks. If you click on the flock name, a list of flocks will appear for you to choose from.
Each wild condor is outfitted with a visual ID tag and at least one radio transmitter. Some birds are also given GPS transmitters. These allow biologists to track the movements and behaviors of the flock using radio telemetry and GPS mapping. If you are interested in identifying or learning more about a tagged bird in the wild please visit CondorSpotter.
A crucial part of any endangered species recovery program is documenting and addressing threats. Through tracking efforts, biologists are able to recover deceased condors from the field and submit them for necropsy and analysis in an attempt to determine the cause of death. Gaining an understanding of threats to the species assists the recovery program in addressing these hazards.
Beginning in the late fall, condor biologists are busy identifying potential breeding pairs for next spring. Pairs are monitored for breeding displays and are closely observed to determine breeding territories. Once a nest is identified, biologists monitor it regularly and determine if the nest is safe to enter. If so, biologists will conduct health checks on the chick, remove trash from the nest, and outfit the nestling with a radio transmitter and vinyl ID tag when it is 4 months old. Chicks will remain in the nest for approximately 6 months and will stay in their nesting area for several months after fledging, or flying from the nest. Biologists continue to monitor the nesting area until the fledgling is fully integrated into the flock.
Additionally, biologists attempt to trap every wild condor yearly in order to repace transmitters and test blood for elevated lead levels, since lead poisoning is still the main cause of death for condors.
Since reintroduction, California condor numbers in the wild have slowly increased thanks to wild nesting and the release of captive-bred condors (see table below). As of the end of 2019, there were a total of 518 condors in the world, with 337 of those flying free in the wild. However, condors today are still dying due to threats like lead poisoning, consuming litter and microtrash, and electrocution from power poles. Learn more about what you can do to help condors and other wildlife here.
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) 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 (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), 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.[5]
The plumage is black with patches of white on the underside of the wings; the head is largely bald, with skin color ranging from gray on young birds to yellow and bright orange on breeding adults. Its 3.0 m (9.8 ft) wingspan is the widest of any North American bird, and its weight of up to 12 kg (26 lb) nearly equals that of the trumpeter swan, the heaviest among native North American bird species. The condor is a scavenger and eats large amounts of carrion. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.[6]
Condor numbers dramatically declined in the 20th century due to agricultural chemicals (DDT), poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction.[7] A conservation plan put in place by the United States government led to the capture of all the remaining wild condors by 1987, with a total population of 27 individuals.[8] These surviving birds were bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers rose through captive breeding, and beginning in 1991, condors were reintroduced into the wild. Since then, their population has grown, but the California condor remains one of the world's rarest bird species. By 31 December 2023, the Fish and Wildlife Service had updated the total world population of 561.[9] A May 2024 population estimate of 561 is provided by the non-profit Ventana Wildlife Society on their website.[10] The condor is a significant bird to many Californian Native American groups and plays an important role in several of their traditional myths.[11]
The California condor was described by English naturalist George Shaw in 1797 as Vultur californianus; Archibald Menzies collected the type specimen "from the coast of California" during the Vancouver expedition.[4] It was originally classified in the same genus as the Andean condor (V. gryphus), but, due to the Andean condor's slightly different markings, slightly longer wings, and tendency to kill small animals to eat,[12] the California condor has been placed in its own monotypic genus. The generic name Gymnogyps is derived from the Greek gymnos/γυμνος "naked" or "bare", and gyps/γυψ "vulture",[13] while the specific name californianus comes from its location in California. The word condor itself is derived from the Quechua word kuntur.[14]
The exact taxonomic placement of the California condor and the other six species of New World vultures remains unclear.[15] Though similar in appearance and ecological roles to Old World vultures, the New World vultures evolved from a different ancestor in a different part of the world. Just how different the two are is under debate, with some earlier authorities suggesting that the New World vultures are more closely related to storks.[16] More recent authorities maintain their overall position in the order Falconiformes along with the Old World vultures[17] or place them in their own order, Cathartiformes.[18] The South American Classification Committee has removed the New World vultures from Ciconiiformes and instead placed them in Incertae sedis, but notes that a move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is possible.[15]
The genus Gymnogyps is an example of a relict distribution. During the Pleistocene Epoch, this genus was widespread across the Americas. From fossils, the Floridian Gymnogyps kofordi from the Early Pleistocene and the Peruvian Gymnogyps howardae from the Late Pleistocene have been described.[20] A condor found in Late Pleistocene deposits on Cuba was initially described as Antillovultur varonai, but has since been recognized as another member of Gymnogyps, Gymnogyps varonai. It may even have derived from a founder population of California condors.[21]
The adult California condor is a uniform black with the exception of large triangular patches or bands of white on the underside of the wings. It has gray legs and feet, an ivory-colored bill, a frill of black feathers surrounding the base of the neck, and brownish red eyes.[26] The juvenile is mostly a mottled dark brown with blackish coloration on the head. It has mottled gray instead of white on the underside of its flight feathers.[27]
The condor's head has little to no feathers, which helps keep it clean when feeding on carrion.[28] The skin of the head and neck is capable of flushing noticeably in response to emotional state.[29] The skin color varies from yellowish to a glowing reddish-orange.[26] The birds do not have true syringeal vocalizations. They can make a few hissing or grunting sounds only heard when very close.[30]
The female condor is smaller than the male, an exception to the rule among birds of prey (the related Andean condor is another exception). Overall length ranges from 109 to 140 cm (43 to 55 in) and wingspan from 2.49 to 3 m (8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in). Their weight ranges from 7 to 14.1 kg (15 to 31 lb), with estimations of average weight ranging from 8 to 9 kg (18 to 20 lb).[27][31] Wingspans of up to 3.4 m (11 ft) have been reported but no wingspan over 3.05 m (10.0 ft) has been verified.[32] Most measurements are from birds raised in captivity, so it is difficult to determine if major differences exist between wild and captive condors.
California condors have the largest wingspan of any North American bird. They are surpassed in both body length and weight only by the trumpeter swan and the introduced mute swan. The American white pelican and whooping crane also have longer bodies than the condor. Condors are so large that they can be mistaken for a small, distant airplane, which possibly occurs more often than that they are mistaken for other bird species.[33]
The middle toe of the California condor's foot is greatly elongated, and the hind toe is only slightly developed. The talons of all the toes are straight and blunt and are thus more adapted to walking than gripping. This is more similar to their supposed relatives the storks[34][35] than to birds of prey and Old World vultures, which use their feet as weapons or organs of prehension.
At the time of human settlement of the Americas, the California condor was widespread across North America; condor bones from the late Pleistocene have been found at the Cutler Fossil Site in southern Florida.[36] However, at the end of the last glacial period came the extinction of the megafauna that led to a subsequent reduction in range and population. Five hundred years ago, the California condor roamed across the American Southwest and West Coast. Faunal remains of condors have been found documented in Arizona,[37] Nevada,[38] New Mexico,[39][40] and Texas.[41] The Lewis and Clark Expedition of the early 19th century reported on their sighting and shooting of California condors near the mouth of the Columbia River.[42][43]
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