California Condor Nest - Big Sur, California, USA

This camera looks down into an active California condor nest at the Ventana Wildlife Society's Condor Sanctuary in Big Sur, on the central California coast. The nest sits in a rocky cliff cavity, and the adult bird's slate-grey wing fills much of the frame while the pale, downy chick moves around the litter of bark and bone fragments behind it.

The California condor is North America's largest bird, with a wingspan approaching three metres. Its bare head is a hygienic adaptation for feeding inside carcasses, and the skin changes colour noticeably as a way of signalling mood and communicating with other birds. Much of the time on camera is spent preening and rearranging feathers.

Condors pair for life and breed only every other year. A single egg is laid between February and May, incubated by both parents for 55 to 60 days. The chick fledges around six months after hatching but stays dependent on its parents for food for months afterwards, and won't reach full adult plumage until five or six years old.

Did You Know? The entire wild population of California condors was captured in 1987, leaving just 27 birds alive, all of them in captivity. Every condor now flying, including the pair on this camera, descends from those 27 individuals.

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