California Condor Card

- Class: Aves - Order: Accipitriformes - Family: Cathartidae - Genus: Gymnogyps - Species: G. californianus INFORMATION ABOUT CALIFORNIA CONDOR The California Condor is the largest North American land bird and one of the rarest bird species in the world. Facing near-extinction because of poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction, the US Fish & Wildlife Service partnered with other organizations for an unprecedented plan to capture all remaining wild condors and place them into a captive breeding program. The last condor was captured in 1987, while the first releases back into the wild began in 1991. While there have been many obstacles to the recovery of this species, the free-flying and wild-breeding population has steadily grown.