Andean Condor

The Andean condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world by wingspan, found along the length of the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of South America, with a wingspan that can exceed three metres. Adults are mostly black with a striking white ruff of feathers around the neck and, in males, a fleshy comb and wattles on the bald head, an adaptation shared with other vultures that helps keep the head clean while feeding on carrion. It is a scavenger rather than a hunter, soaring for hours on rising air currents with barely a wingbeat to search for the carcasses of large animals across vast mountain and coastal territories. Andean condors mate for life, reproduce slowly, raising at most one chick every two years, and the species is classified as vulnerable due to poisoning, persecution and habitat loss, despite holding deep cultural significance as a national symbol in several Andean countries.