Andean condor

The Andean condor is native to the Andes mountain chain that extends north to south along the entire length of western South America, but also can be found over the coasts of Peru and Chile and the Patagonian steppe of Argentina. Wheeling and soaring over high mountains, windswept upland plains and lowland desert areas, the condor looks for signs of other scavengers gathering over carrion. It avoids forests, where locating carcasses and landing is difficult for such a broad-winged bird.

Although the Andean condor doesn’t migrate seasonally, it covers huge areas while foraging. It relies on its superb soaring abilities to carry it at high altitudes back to its roosting site each evening. The condor tends to roost and nest on the faces of high cliffs, where few predators can gain access to its eggs and from where it can launch itself easily into the air.

Found high in the Andes mountains of western South America, over the grasslands of Argentina south of the Rio Negro and on the coasts of Peru and Chile.