Common Name: Andean Condor
Scientific Name: Vultur gryphus
Family: Cathartidae

Description

The Andean Condor is considered the largest flying bird worldwide, and the one displaying the largest wingspan. Overall length can reach 142cm for an adult bird and the wings range from 2.7 to 3.3 meters and weigh up to 15 kilos.

Their head is small, bare and reddish, displaying the presence of a crest in the case of the males while their skin of the neck lies in folds and become more numerous with age.

The condor is one of the highest-flying bird as it uses rising drafts to fly up to 7000 meters high.

The Condor’s diet is mainly made up of dead animals, at which they observe for a long period before coming closer and eat them. It can be days before they decide to approach their prey. They can eat up to 5 kilos of meat daily.

The Andean Condor breeds along the entire chain of the Andes from Chile to Venezuela. Since the year 1800, its distribution all over America has been greatly reduced, leading to its extinction in some regions.

In Chile, the Condor is the symbol of our coat of arms, representing strengh.