From the north · Wildlife
Andean condor
The largest flying bird on Earth by combined weight and wingspan — a soaring scavenger you'll spot before you know it's there.
Vultur gryphus
- Wingspan
- 9.5–10.5 ft (2.9–3.2 m)
- Weight
- 17–33 lb (8–15 kg)
- Lifespan
- 50+ yr wild
- Diet
- Almost entirely carrion — guanaco, sea lion, sheep, cetacean
- Flight
- Soars 100+ mi/day with almost no flapping
- Nest
- Cliff ledge, 1 egg every 2 yr
- Fledge
- Chick dependent on adults for 12–18 months
- Range
- Andes from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego
Regulations by region
Andean condor rules where you're headed
Seasons, tags, limits, and legal methods for andean condor are set jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Pick your state or province and we'll point you at the agency that writes the rules.
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How to spot one
Look up. An Andean condor holds its long, plank-flat wings out at a slight dihedral with 'finger' primaries splayed at the tip, riding thermals for miles without a wingbeat. In Patagonia they are most common along the Andean spine and the escarpments above steppe valleys. Adults show the huge white neck ruff and a broad white patch across the upper wing; juveniles are all-brown with no ruff and take 6–8 years to reach adult plumage.
As a spotting tool
Two or more condors circling low, joined by caracaras and ravens, almost always mark a fresh carcass. In puma country this is a first-order signal: something died recently and something else killed it. Approach the site carefully from downwind if you must approach at all — a puma on a fresh kill will still be nearby, and the condors gather only once the cat has left.
Ecological role
As an obligate scavenger, condors clean guanaco kills, sea-lion pup carcasses on the coast, and cetacean strandings along the Chilean coast — a service that suppresses pathogen and rodent booms downstream. Lead poisoning from ingested rifle bullet fragments is the single largest modern mortality source for condor populations; non-lead ammunition matters in condor range.
Nesting and slow reproduction
Pairs bond for life and nest on huge inaccessible cliff ledges. One egg is laid every two years; the chick fledges at about 6 months but depends on the parents for a further 12–18 months. This slow reproduction is why any adult mortality event ripples through a population for decades — condors cannot 'bounce back' the way most scavengers can.
Encounters and viewing
There is no wildlife-safety issue with condors — they are pure scavengers with no interest in living prey larger than a newborn lamb. Give them space at roost cliffs and never approach a carcass they are actively working; a spooked condor loses a full crop of food and may not eat again for days.
Field notes
- Two or more condors spiralling low over one drainage almost always marks a fresh kill worth reading, not approaching.
- A plank-flat wing profile with splayed primaries is a condor; a shallow-V, tippy flight is a turkey vulture — much smaller.
- Non-lead ammunition in guanaco or livestock harvest saves condors from the biggest modern mortality source — copper bullets, not lead.
Where you'll find it
Filming locations with andean condor
On screen