Editing California condor (section)

{{Short description|Large New World vulture, North America}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Speciesbox
 | name                = California condor
 | fossil_range        = {{Fossil range|2.5|0}}<small>Early [[Pleistocene]] – [[Holocene]]</small>
 | status              = CR
 | status_system       = IUCN3.1
 | status_ref          = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2020 |title=''Gymnogyps californianus'' |page=e.T22697636A181151405 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697636A181151405.en |access-date=March 9, 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1 
 | status2_system = CITES 
 | status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=January 14, 2022|website=cites.org|archive-date=February 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204020215/http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | image               = California-condor-gymnogyps-californianus-078 (21196759264).jpg
 | image_upright       = 1.2
 | image_caption       = Condor #534 soaring over the [[Grand Canyon]] in 2006
 | genus               = Gymnogyps 
 | species             = californianus
 | authority           = ([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1797)
 | synonyms            = 
Genus-level:
*''Antillovultur'' {{taxobox authority|author=Arredondo|date = 1971}}
*''Pseudogryphus'' {{taxobox authority|author= [[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]]|date = 1874}}<ref name="Ridgway, 1874"/>
Species-level:
*''Vultur californianus'' {{taxobox authority|author=Shaw|date = 1797}}<ref name="Shaw, 1797" />
 | range_map           = Gymnogyps californianus.svg
 | range_map_upright   = 1.2
 | range_map_caption   = Range map of California condor:
{{leftlegend|#8c510a|Extant (resident)}}
{{leftlegend|#b99563|Possibly extinct}}
}}

The '''California condor''' ('''''Gymnogyps californianus''''') is a [[New World vulture]] and the largest [[North America]]n 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 the [[International Union for the Conservation of Nature]] as [[Critically Endangered]], and similarly considered ''Critically Imperiled'' by [[NatureServe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101273/Gymnogyps_californianus |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=November 16, 2022}}</ref>

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 {{cvt|3.0|m}} [[wingspan]] is the widest of any North American bird, and its weight of up to {{cvt|12|kg}} 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 [[List of long-living organisms|longest-living]] birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/26/california.condor/index.html?hpt=C2|work=CNN|title=Once nearly extinct, the California condor nears new milestones|date=April 27, 2011|access-date=April 27, 2011|archive-date=August 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804052658/http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/26/california.condor/index.html?hpt=C2|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Condor]] numbers dramatically declined in the 20th century due to agricultural chemicals ([[DDT]]), [[poaching]], [[lead poisoning]], and [[habitat destruction]].<ref name="SDPop">{{cite web| title= San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: California Condor| publisher= The Zoological Society of San Diego's Center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species| url= http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-condor.html| access-date= April 18, 2012| archive-date= August 3, 2003| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030803211953/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-condor.html| url-status= live}}</ref> A [[conservation movement|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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Last Wild California Condor Capture for Breeding Program | work=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (press release) | url=https://www.fws.gov/news/Historic/NewsReleases/1987/19870421.pdf | access-date=May 6, 2009 | archive-date=August 18, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818080111/https://www.fws.gov/news/Historic/NewsReleases/1987/19870421.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref><!-- Please see [[Talk:California_condor#22_vs_27_captive_individuals]] for some info regarding conflicting estimates here --> 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. By 31 December 2023, the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish and Wildlife Service]] had updated the total world population of 561.<ref name=NPS_2023>{{cite web| title=World CA Condor Update – 2023 Population Status| url=https://11ae4d20-b6ab-49c3-9b63-36196fc358e7.usrfiles.com/ugd/11ae4d_758a5cc7833b4836b7cc140ff60526b8.pdf| publisher=[[National Park Service]]| date=December 31, 2023| access-date=19 May 2024}}</ref> A population estimate of 565 is provided by the non-profit Ventana Wildlife Society on their website.<ref name=VSt_2>{{cite web| title=Condor Status| url=https://www.ventanaws.org/status.html| website=Ventana Wildlife Society| access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref> The condor is a significant bird to many Californian Native American groups and plays an important role in several of their [[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas|traditional myths]].<ref name=WOS_2>{{cite web| title=Wings of the Spirit: The Place of the California Condor Among Native Peoples of the Californias| author=Foster, J.W| url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23527| quote=It is apparent that California condors held a special place in the lives and ceremonies of California natives.| website=[[California Department of Parks and Recreation]]| publisher=[[State of California]]| date=2024| access-date=April 22, 2024}}</ref>