California condor
Gymnogyps californianus
Identification Tips:
- Sexes similar
- Huge, broad-winged, short-tailed, soaring bird
- Longish, hooked bill
- Holds wings relatively flat while soaring and gliding
- Unfeathered head
- White underwing coverts
- Plumage dark
- Rare and local in the wild
Adult:
- White patch on upper surface of inner wing-visible in flight and at rest
- Reddish to yellowish head
- Subadult simiilar to adult but has more mottling on underwing coverts
- Immatures take several years to reach adult plumage
-
Immature:
- Head and neck dusky
- Underwing coverts heavily mottled
Similar species:
The California Condor is much larger than any other raptor. At a distance,
where its size may not be as apparent, note that the tail is shorter than
similarly dark Turkey Vulture, Golden Eagle, and immature Bald Eagle.