Size: The largest vulture in the world, with a wingspan up to 10.5 feet! Voice: Diet/Feeding: The Andean Condor feeds mainly on carrion, and coastal residents often make meals of fish, dead sea lions and whales, and the eggs of cormorants and other seaside birds.  Inland residents occasionally take a newborn lamb , goat, or llama in times of hunger. Flight:  Depending almost entirely on strong, warm wind currents to support its soaring flight, the Andean condor is found in regions of high altitude and strong wind. Range/Habitat:  This condor inhabits the Andes Mountains, and the southern coasts of South America Behavior:  Life Cycle:  Nestling condors emerge from the egg naked, and are soon covered with a coat of whitish down.  The down turns grey before it is finally replaced by the new, brown plumage that the fledgeling will maintain for two years, before it attains full adult plumage.  At six months old, the baby is as large as its parents, but it will continue to be fed and cared for until it is almost two years old.            Reaching sexual maturity at the age of eight, Andean condors breed every two years.  They have been recorded living as long as 52 years in captivity.  Breeding: In fall, courtship begins. The male Andean condors displays for his chosen female, standing across from her, and spreading his wings.  Dancing from one foot to the other, he bows his head and clucks to her.  Lastly, he turns and shows her the black and white patterns of his back.           The female will lay a single egg in a cave or rock ledge, several weeks after mating.  After two months, the egg will hatch.  Status:  Long persecuted by man, this birds numbers have severely decreased by today.  There are several captive breeding programs designed to introduce new numbers of them into the wild.  Besides being caught and killed for many superstitious rituals and medicines, these great vultures suffer also at the hands of locals who profit from the sale of shorebird guano, used as fertilizer.  These workers often shoot the condors, believing them a threat to shorebird populations based on their occasional consumption of the birds' eggs.  Folklore, Misc. Information:  The ancient Incas of Peru believed the Andean Condor to be a messenger from the sun God.  This majestic bird was represented in much of their artwork and jewelry.  An ancient myth tells of the condor daily lifting the sun into the sky, and returning it safely to a sacred lake each night.            The condor head was a symbol of a clan of special Incan governors, who believed themselves to be descended from the great condor, posessing its speed and power.           Even today, some indians believe that epilepsy and heart disease can be cured with the dried heart of the condor, and the bird's bones, powdered, are used in remedies for the bone.  Unfortunately, other superstitions persist as well, such as eating their eyes to improve eyesight, and drinking the blood of an old condor to increase one's lifespan.  An Andean Condor in many languages:

Andean Condor Vultur gryphus