California condor
Gymnogyps californianus (Shaw, 1797)
CRCritically Endangeredbirds of prey
The california condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a bird of prey in the family Cathartidae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a medium-sized bird by body mass, with adults weighing 8.4 kg (from 8.1 to 8.8 kg) and a wingspan of 2.8 m.
Quick facts about the california condor
The california condor is a terrestrial, sedentary scavenger of shrubland habitat, with a geographic range of 101,700 km². It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 8.1 kg – 8.8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 2.82 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 18.6 years – 45 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Scavengersrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 56.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5.99 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the california condor?
Photos of the california condor
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the california condor live?
Not recorded
What is the california condor?
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), the coastal mountains of California, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps, although four extinct members of the genus are also known. The species is listed by IUCN as critically endangered, and similarly considered Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.
The plumage is black with patches of white on the underside of the wings; the head is largely bald, with skin color ranging from gray on young birds to yellow and bright orange on breeding adults. Its 3.0 m (9.8 ft) wingspan is the widest of any North American bird, and its weight of up to 14 kg (31 lb) nearly equals that of the trumpeter swan, the heaviest among native North American bird species. The condor is a scavenger and eats large amounts of carrion. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.
Condor numbers dramatically declined in the 20th century due to agricultural chemicals (DDT), poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction. A conservation plan put in place by the United States government led to the capture of all the remaining wild condors by 1987, with a total population of 27 individuals. These surviving birds were bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers rose through captive breeding, and beginning in 1991, condors were reintroduced into the wild. Since then, their population has grown, but the California condor remains one of the world's rarest bird species. In December 2025, the Fish and Wildlife Service updated the world population to 607. The condor is a significant bird to many Californian Native American groups and plays an important role in several of their traditional myths.
From the Wikipedia article “California condor” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=California_condor&oldid=1384346356), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the california condor sound like?
Is the california condor endangered?
The california condor is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the california condor classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyCathartidae
- genusGymnogyps
- SpeciesGymnogyps californianus (Shaw, 1797)
Synonyms Cathartes vulturinus, Gymnogyps amplus, Gymnogyps californianus californianus, Pseudogryphus californianus, Vultur californianus
Other names and names in other languages (48)
- California vultureEnglish
- Californian vultureEnglish
- Royal vultureEnglish
- Kaliforniese kondorAfrikaans
- كندور كاليفورنيArabic
- كندور كاليفورنياArabic
- cóndor californianuAsturian
- Каліфарнійскі кондарBelarusian
- Kondor KaliforniaBreton
- còndor de CalifòrniaCatalan
- kondor kalifornskýCzech
- condor CalifforniaWelsh
- Californisk KondorDanish
- KalifornienkondorGerman
- Kalifornischer KondorGerman
- kalifornia kondoroEsperanto
- Cóndor californianoSpanish
- Cóndor de CaliforniaSpanish
- kalifornia kondorEstonian
- کرکس کالیفرنیاPersian
- kaliforniankondoriFinnish
- Condor de CalifornieFrench
- קונדור קליפורניHebrew
- kaliforniai kondorHungarian
- Condor della CaliforniaItalian
- カリフォルニアコンドルJapanese
- 캘리포니아콘도르Korean
- kaliforninis kondorasLithuanian
- Kalifornijas kondorsLatvian
- കാലിഫോർണിയൻ കോണ്ടോർMalayalam
- JeeshóóʼNavajo
- Californische CondorDutch
- kondor kalifornijskiPolish
- condor-californianoPortuguese
- condor-da-califórniaPortuguese
- Condor californianRomanian
- Калифорнийский кондорRussian
- kondor veľkozobýSlovak
- Kalifornijski kondorSerbian
- kalifornisk kondorSwedish
- Kaliforniya KondoruTurkish
- Kaliforniya PakbabasıTurkish
- Каліфорнійський кондорUkrainian
- кондор каліфорнійськийUkrainian
- pregoneeshyur
- 加州神鷲Chinese
- 加利福尼亞兀鷲Chinese
- 加州神鹫Chinese
Relatives of the california condor
Other species in the same genus Gymnogyps.
Cuban condor
Gymnogyps varonai
CompareCalifornia condor vs Cuban condorCalifornia condor vs Gymnogyps kofordi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the california condor?
The california condor is a bird of prey in the family Cathartidae. It is also called the royal vulture, California vulture or Californian vulture.
How heavy is the california condor?
Adult California condors weigh 8.4 kg, with reported values from 8.1 to 8.8 kg. Their wingspan is 2.8 m.
What does the california condor eat?
The california condor is a scavenger.
Is the california condor endangered?
Yes. The california condor is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.
How long does the california condor live?
The california condor has a lifespan of 45 years. It reaches sexual maturity at 6 years.
How many eggs does the california condor lay?
The california condor has a clutch size of 1, with 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 56 days.
What habitat does the california condor use?
The california condor uses shrubland habitat and is terrestrial and sedentary.
Who named the california condor?
The california condor was named Gymnogyps californianus by (Shaw, 1797).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). California condor (Gymnogyps californianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-condor
“California condor (Gymnogyps californianus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-condor.
@misc{california_condor_2026,
title = {California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-condor},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}