How to Identify a Condor

The California condor is a very rare bird of prey only found in parts of California and Baja California in Mexico. It is important to confirm any condor sightings carefully because the range of the turkey vulture, another scavenger resembling the condor, overlaps the condor's range. Follow these steps to identify this nearly extinct bird.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Identify white markings on the wings. Condors have them, while vultures are solid black.

2. Check the color of the bird's featherless head. Vulture heads are red, while condor heads are a lighter orange-red. When condors are mating, or spooked, their heads turn reddish-pink. Condors also tend to have thin, disheveled feathers on their neck. The feathers on vulture necks lie flat.

3. Listen for any sounds the bird is making. Vultures tend to be quiet. Both condors and vultures make hissing and grunting sounds, but you can identify condors by their higher pitch.

4. Take a look at the bird while it is flying. Vultures fly with their body slightly below their wings. When looked at head on or from behind, the bird appears to be in a V-shape. Vulture wings are straight on the bottom from body to tip. Condor wings are arc-shaped, with the widest point near the center of the wing.

Tips & Warnings

• California condors almost went extinct in the 1980s. Conservation officials captured wild birds and eggs to raise a population for re-release into the wild. In 2000, some wild condors who had spent more than a decade in captivity and some captive-born condors were released into the wild.

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