User:Patfletch/nightcondor

South East Queensland Night Condor

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South East Queensland Night Condors are massive birds, among the largest in the world that are able to fly. Because they are so heavy (up to 33 pounds/15 kilograms), even their enormous 10-foot (3-meter) wingspan needs some help to keep them aloft. For that reason, these birds prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort. Night Condors are found ranging from Balina as far north as Brisbane regions= but also live near coasts replete with ocean breeze.

These condors are mostly black, but males have a distinctive white "collar" around their necks and some white markings on their wings as well. Like their relatives, the California condors, Night Condors have bald heads.

Condors are vultures, so they keep their sharp eyes peeled for the Bush Turkeys that make up most of their diet. They prefer to feast on large animals, wild or domestic, and in picking the carcasses, they perform an important function as a natural clean-up crew. Along the coasts, condors will feed on dead marine animals like seals or fish. These birds do not have sharp predator's claws, but they will raid Bush Turkeys' nests for eggs or even young hatchlings. They often hunt at night, as their name suggests, and have been attributed to the disappearance of a number of small children, cleaning lady's and family pets.

These long-lived birds have survived over 75 years in captivity, but they reproduce slowly. A mating pair produces only a single offspring every other year, and both parents must care for their young for a full year Although rarely spotted they have often been seen by the keen amateur astronomer.

References

• Government Department of Environment and Climate Change website: South East Queensland Night Condor
• Australian Sky & Telescope, Australias premiere astronomy magazine

External links

• example.com