Adult California condors have a distinctive pink head and neck that is bare of feathers. They may not be the prettiest birds you’ve ever seen, but that bare head is perfectly designed to keep rotting food from sticking to it as the birds eat. The skin on an adult condor’s head can also express some emotions. It turns a deep red-pink during courtship or when the birds are excited or alarmed.
California condors are vultures. Like all vultures, they are carrion feeders, not predators. They eat anything that is already dead, ranging in size from mice to beached whales. Condors do not have talons like hawks or eagles do; instead, their nails are more like blunt claws.
They also do not have a toe that faces backward (opposing), so they cannot grasp or carry prey with their feet. Condors prefer to eat large, dead animals like deer, cattle, and sheep, but they also eat rodents, rabbits, and even fish.
They are monogamous and, once established, generally pair for life. However, if a pair is unsuccessful, each bird may seek out a new mate. Condors, like other vulture species, are social birds that share food and spend time resting near one another.
