What is Condor?
{{Taxobox | name = Condors | image = Condor flying over the Colca canyon in Peru.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = An Andean Condor soars over southern Peru's [[Colca Canyon]]. | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Accipitriformes]] | familia = [[New World vulture|Cathartidae]] }} [[Image:CalifornCondor.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A Californian condor (not fully grown yet)]] '''Condor''' is the name for two [[species]] of [[New World vulture]]s. Each is the only [[species]] in its [[genus]]. They are the largest flying land birds in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. They are: * The [[Andean Condor]] (''Vultur gryphus''), which lives over the [[Andes]]. * The [[California Condor]] (''Gymnogyps californianus''), now found only on the western coastal mountains of the [[United States]] and [[Mexico]]. Condors are part of the family Cathartidae, whereas the 15 species of [[Old World vultures]] are in the family [[Accipitridae]], that also includes falcons, hawks, and eagles. The New World and Old World vultures evolved from different ancestors. Condors are [[scavenger]]s. They feed on [[carrion]] (dead animals). Their distinctive bare heads are an [[adaptation]] to their feeding method. It helps to keep them clean as they feed inside a carcass. The Andean Condor has a wingspan of between 274 and 310&nbsp;cm, and weights around 11–15&nbsp;kg. The California Condor is smaller. == Fossil record == Fossils from the [[Pleistocene]] era have been found in various parts of North America, including New York and Florida. California Condors or their ancestors once lived on the west coast of North America as well as all the way to the eastern coast. An ancient relative of the condor, ''[[Argentavis]] magnificens'' from South America, may have been the largest flying bird ever with a wingspan of {{convert|7|m|ft}}.<ref>Campbel K.E. & Tonni E.P. 1983. Size and locomotion in teratorns (Aves: Teratornithidae). ''Auk'' '''100'''(2): 390-403</ref> == References == {{reflist