ORIGIN OF NAMES “Condor” is a Spanish rendering of an indigenous Peruvian name for these birds; Gr. gymnos, naked, and gyps, vulture; L. californianus, of California.

      NATURAL HISTORY California Condors once soared over open expanses of western North America searching for decaying carcasses provided in abundance by vast herds of bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn. Prior to European colonization, they occurred from British Columbia to Baja California, but shooting, lead poisoning, nest disturbance, decline in food supply, and other human intrusions have caused dramatic declines, almost to the point of extinction (see “Trends and Conservation Status,” below).

      With nine-foot wingspans, California Condors are the largest land birds in North America. These giants routinely make round trips of 70 miles or more between roosting and feeding sites. They always feed on the ground in open areas such as grasslands and oak savanna, where there is sufficient space and suitable air currents for their labored landings and takeoffs. Both fresh and decomposing carcasses of cattle, sheep, deer, and ground squirrels are the mainstays of their diet. Lacking a keen sense of smell, condors locate the majority of their food by watching other scavengers such as Turkey Vultures.

      Condor reproductive rates are low and a successful pair will generally hatch only one egg every other year. Their chicks take about 100 days to gain adult size but do not fledge for another two months. They depend on the adults for food and protection for at least another six months, an extraordinarily long period of dependency. Nests are simple depressions on cliff ledges or potholes in caves, although in the Sierra they are known to have nested in cavities in giant sequoias. Female condors do not breed until at least their sixth year, and mated pairs often remain together for long periods. Prior to their first mating, immature birds, either singly or in groups, will spend a year or more visiting and becoming familiar with the foraging range and nesting territories of the adult population.

      STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION According to Grinnell and Miller (1944), California Condors were “formerly (within historic times and up to about 1870) common throughout that portion of the State lying west of the Great Basin and desert territories, and north from the Mexican line to the Oregon line.” These authors noted that condors were known from the foothills of Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, and Tehama Counties as well as the Owens Valley, mainly below 6,000 feet.

      West Side. The last known nesting pair of condors in the Sierra was recorded in 1984 nesting in a giant sequoia in Sequoia National Forest (Tulare County); as of 2011, there were no records of wild condors present in the Sierra, although rugged and remote areas in the southern Sierra may be prime candidates for reintroduction efforts in the future and are the likely destinations of wandering birds from current reintroduction efforts in the mountains of southern California. There have been a few records from the Kern River Canyon in recent years.

      East Side. No modern records.

      TRENDS AND CONSERVATION STATUS By 1950 the global population of California Condors numbered only about 150, and the species was listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967 and by California in 1971. Their numbers dropped to around 15 birds by 1987, when all remaining wild birds were captured and taken into captive breeding programs to prevent the species’ extinction. Since 1988, captive-bred birds have been produced and, as of 2010, more than 380 had been released into suitable habitat areas in coastal southern California, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California. These releases have met with variable success, with relatively high mortalities of both adult and juvenile birds due to the failures of captive-reared birds to exhibit wild behaviors and from consumption of lead fragments from bullets in deer and other game. Establishment of self-sustaining, wild populations may not be realistic until the problem of lead contamination from bullet fragments can be addressed on a range-wide basis.

       OSPREY

      Family Pandionidae

      In recent decades Ospreys were considered a subfamily of the family Accipitridae, along with hawks, kites, and eagles. However, they are again considered a distinct family, represented by only a single species. This is supported by genetic studies and physical characteristics including having toes of equal length and rounded, rather than grooved, talons. Ospreys and owls are the only raptors with reversible outer toes, allowing them to grasp prey with two toes in front and two behind. The family name is thought to be derived from Pandion, a king of Greek mythology whose two daughters were turned into birds; this name may also derive from L. pan, all; and L. dio, god.

      Osprey

      Pandion haliaetus