Condors may weigh more than 20 pounds. Predators of dead carcasses follow condors because condors are great at finding but some birds are not good at finding food. The male Andean condor of South America is even larger than our California condor. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not the biggest bird in North America no matter how carefully the superlative is crafted. The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. These superb gliders travel widely to feed on carcasses of deer, pigs, cattle, sea lions, whales, and other animals. Headed toward extinction in the 1980s, the last birds were brought in from the General Biology: The California Condor is the largest bird of prey in North America. Diet, nutrition, feeding behavior. The California condor doesn’t need more bad news. The California condor is a majestic icon of the natural world in the southwestern United States. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Andean Condor Facts. The spectacular but endangered California Condor is the largest bird in North America. The California condor’s diet consists of marine mammals, domestic ungulates, and wild ungulates. Bill Would Keep Lead Ammunition Out Of Condors' Diet California condor conservationists are among those pushing for a statewide ban on lead ammunition in California… Soaring over wilderness crags, feeding on carcasses of large dead animals, reproducing very slowly, it was not well suited to survival in modern-day southern California. Captive-breeding programs have brought the bird back from the edge of extinction, but habitat loss and lead poisoning have prevented a … A holdover from prehistoric times, the great condor is one of our largest and most magnificent birds -- and one of the rarest. The California condor is slightly greater as compared to the Andean condor in that the difference is only 7 – 8 cm. They first perch on trees to find their food because a quiet tree is a good place for a condor since they can hear their prey eating,drinking and other things. They can tear apart even the hardest or thickest part of the skin with their powerful bill. The males generally weigh around 11 to 15 kg (24 to 33l lb), with the weight of the females is … Diet: Only Carrion Predators: Golden Eagles & Coyotes Condor in Flight . Its wings may stretch nearly 10 feet from tip to tip. In trying to restore the California condor to the wild, conservation groups have run up against a potentially lethal problem: lead poisoning. Noel Synder US Fish and Wildlife Service. Diet and behavior. Advice to California Condors: Change Your Diet. California Condors have a good habit of eating. Pairs nest in caves high on cliff faces. The California condor, Gymnogyps californianus, is one of the largest flying birds in the world.When it soars, the wings spread more than nine feet from tip to tip. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. ; The wingspan ranges from 270 to 320 cm (8.9 to 10.5 ft). They eat the carcasses of dead animals. The bald head and strong beak of this California condor are not fashion statements—they are useful adaptations. Condors are likely to consume carcasses of land mammals such as donkeys, cougars, coyotes, deer, sheep, horses, bears, pigs, cattle, and rabbits. Like all vultures, California condors are scavengers.