Andean Condor

(Vultur gryphus)

The Andean Condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world! It’s like a small airplane! It can have a wingspan of up to 10.5 feet.

Like its cousin, the California Condor, this bird is a vulture. It survives by eating carrion, the dead remains of other animals. The Andean Condor will gorge itself when it finds food, and then may go days before eating again. It soars effortlessly without flapping for many hours over the mighty peaks of the Andes Mountains in South America. It is also the only New World Vulture to show sexual dimorphism (a difference between males and females.) Males are larger and have a fleshy comb on top of the head, somewhat like a rooster!

Photo: Andes Mountains, East of Santiago, Chile