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Even as juveniles, with gray heads and less striking color patterns than adults, California condors are extremely impressive birds, especially in flight. Wild condors are intensively managed to assist in the ongoing recovery of this endangered species; for that reason almost all carry leg bands, large numbered wing-tags, and radio transmitters. A few wild-hatched birds are tag-less for a while, until they are captured for marking (one bird on this page has no tags). These were photographed a few kilometers south of Big Sur and in Pinnacles National Park, both in California. All but 868 were wild-hatched, according to their tag numbers (828, 868, 936, 937, and untagged ) -- a positive sign for the recovery program. Other photos of this species are here and here . |
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