Birds of Ecuador

 

is one of the largest flying birds in the world. Its majestic proportions and aerial elegance gave it its nickname King of the Andes. The bird was venerated by pre-Colombian cultures throughout the Americas. But also later newcomers to the continent were awed by it and it was named the national bird of Ecuador, being shown in the national flag's emblem. The admiration continues till today and anyone seeing it for the first time is truly impressed by this enormous vulture.

It has the largest wing area of any bird in the world covering some 0.6 square meters which allows it to soar easily on warm air currents. Its wing span can reach up to 3.5 meters being only surpassed by narrow winged albatrosses. It can stand up to 1.25 meters and can weigh some 12 kilograms. Its plumage is black with white feathers on the upper wings and a white thick ruff around its lower neck.

As its name suggests, its range is in the Andes, from Venezuela all the way south to Tierra del Fuego. It inhabits mostly the higher mountain regions but in some southern localities, it may move down right to the Pacific Coast. In Ecuador they are found locally only in the high Andean mountain regions where they look for dead animals to feed on. They possess keen vision and rely on that for locating carcasses in the open paramo areas. They may also check on other vulture species circling above or already feasting on dead animals. Being vultures they feed almost entirely on carrion but in rare cases when hungry, they may attack sick or newborn animals. Otherwise they lack the ability to grab living animals with their claws as do raptors. They are the only American vultures where there is a marked difference between males and females (see photos below). Young condors are browner in appearance and lack the white ruff and the white upper wings till they reach 4-5 years of age. The birds are usually quiet, only hissing at carcass sites or when it feels threatened

Andean Condors are the only American vultures which show a marked difference between males and females (sexual dimorphism). The male bird (to the left) is bigger than the female (to the right) and has a fleshy comb on its forehead and shows pale pinkish skin and dewlap around its face. The female has a light black face without a comb or dewlap. Males and females are often observed together in the wild as this pair observed at 4800m at Mt. Antisana Condors are monogamous birds living together with its partner their whole life.

Once every two years (if enough food is available) the female lays one egg. They seek nest sites along inaccessible rock ledges or caves on steep cliffs. This protects the egg from predators and also helps the mature birds to get air lifted with updrafts of warm air. The egg is laid on bare rock without the hassle of building a proper nest. After an incubation time of two months, the chick hatches heavily downed but helpless. At the beginning it is fed partly digested food passed directly to its beak but later the chick serves itself from carrion being droped into its nesting area.  It stays with its parents till it learns to fly and can feed for itself which may take up to one year. Condors may live for a long time, 50 years or even longer.

The condor soars in flight and can reach altitudes of over 6000m. Observed from underneath it is completely black with only the white ruff around the neck showing (left female bird) but from above (male at right) the white upper wing feathers are easily recognized. Primaries are usually widely spread as shown in those pictures taken at 4200m below Antisana. This volcano is located in the Eastern Andean range and close to Quito, the capital of 2 million inhabitants which is occasionally overflown by condors to reach Pichincha and other high paramo areas of the Western Cordillera.

This male condor lives in the heights of Mt. Tungurahua, an active volcano. In times of increased eruptive activities, it descends down to the town of Baños at 1800m. It circles there the zoological grounds in San Martin situated just outside of town along the deep Pastaza gorge. Once its presence is acknowledged, the zoo keepers put out some meat for this majestic creature. It first visit was in 1999 when the volcano entered seriously again in a phase of eruptions after decades of low  activity. It comes down once or twice a year depending on the eruptive status. On its visits it always recognizes its fellow captive condor mates as it spends a few minutes on top of their enclosure.

The condor is very much in danger of disappearing from Ecuador with no more than 100 birds are believed to be still living in the country. To the north, in Colombia and Venezuela, this grand vulture is already on the verge of extinction. Only to the south in Peru, Bolivia and Chile are their numbers still sufficient but even there it is under great pressure as more and more of its habitat is destroyed. This grand bird is also hunted by sportsmen for trophy and by rural people for its meat and plumage and also for rewards put out by ranchers, who pay for fear of losing their precious cattle. Lots of damage to the population is done by poisoning of carcasses, a common practice. It can be hoped that the Andean Condor does not go the way of its cousin, the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) in the United States. Only a few of those condors were left in 1988 and those were then captured to be bred in captivity to be able to raise sufficient numbers again for release into the wild.

The majestic condor always played and always will play a role in the imaginations of the native inhabitants. Many legends are woven around them, e.g. where condors come to the rescue of lovers and carrying them away from social oppressions. That and more are expressed in the naive paintings of rural folks like in this one which is popular in the Quilotoa area. Painting by Humberto Latacunga who is a prominent local painter.

Condor - Vulture - Raptor - Caracara - Owl - Woodpecker - Dove - Heron - Egret - Shorebird Hummingbird - Flycatcher - Swallow - Wren - Tanager - Finch - Cuckoo - Duck - Coot - Jacana Parrot - Macaw - Toucan - Cacique & Oropendola - Hoatzin - Trogon - Motmot - Cock-of-the-Rock Kingfisher - Gull - Cormorant - Penguin - Booby - Frigatebird - Pelican - Albatross - Flamingo