What kind of bird is the condor?
The condor is the largest of all living flying birds. And he may be the largest and the heaviest bird ever to take to the air. He looks down on the world from lofty mountains, and some people look down their noses at him. For the mighty bird is one of mother nature’s garbage collectors. The great condor is a vulture who feeds mostly on carrion and corpses, on dead and often decaying meat. He ls seldom seen for he is a very rare bird and makes his home among the lonely peaks of lofty mountains. The South American condor lives in the Andes, maybe two or three miles above sea level. The California condor and his few kinsfolk look down on the world from the rugged peaks of Los Padres National Park. There he is protected, we hope, from extinction. In the past he was trapped and shot for the stiff black feathers of his tail and wings, and in l953 only 60 condors were left in all of California. As a rule, the parent birds produce only one egg each season, and their gawky chick is very slow at
