California Condor is Audubon California's 2011 Bird of the Year

The California Condor has been selected as Audubon California's Bird of the Year for 2011. The endangered species won the title after receiving nearly 35% of the almost 10,000 votes cast in the annual election. The condor beat out the Black Oystercatcher, Western Snowy Plover, Sandhill Crane, and three other species.

Birdorable California Condor

The California Condor is a critically endangered species that was down to just 22 wild birds in the late 1980's. These birds were captured and bred as part of a captive breeding program that continues to see limited but steady success. Today there are over 180 California Condors living in the wild. One totally unnecessary threat still facing California Condors is lead poisoning. If hunters would universally adopt lead-free ammunition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the California Condor recovery program "would [be] wildly successful." Unfortunately, lead-riddled carcasses limit the species' rebound. The California Condor's reign at Audubon California Bird of the Year 2011 highlights the plight of these special birds.

California Condor Gifts

Comments

Spurwing Plover on January 26, 2022 at 8:15 AM wrote:
Q.Where to vultures go when they retire? A.To a Condor-Minium

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

T-Shirt Tuesday: Christmas Songbirds

This week's highlighted t-shirt features three of our cute Birdorable songbirds in festive form. Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch (in non-breeding plumage, of course), and Dark-eyed Junco (slate-colored) all wear red and white Santa Claus hats in anticipation of the holidays. And they are...

Birdorable in Bird Talk Magazine!

We're so excited that Bird Talk Magazine has featured Birdorable in the Avian Flair section of their August issue! Birdorable shown...

Gull Glossary

This week, we're celebrating the gulls of the world! Join us as we highlight these social and intelligent birds! Today we're sharing some keywords that pertain to gulls. This gull glossary also includes definitions that apply to other bird families, but are important topics to understand when...

Birdorable 189: Galah

Today's 189th Birdorable is this Birdorable Galah, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo or Pink and Grey. It is a widespread parrot in Australia, where it can be commonly seen in the bush as well as urban areas...