Talk:California condor

resource

Plight of the Condors; Once on the verge of extinction, North America's largest land birds have made a dramatic comeback. To ensure their continued survival, biologists are relying on high-tech gadgets and unusual interventions by Jane Braxton Little SciAm January 5, 2012

97.87.29.188 (talk) 01:29, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

New range map needed?

The current range map is a bit low-quality. It also may be outdated (2017).

Although, defining the range in this case isn't so straightforward. RadioactiveBoulevardier (talk) 14:15, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

Indeed. We can use what the IUCN reference has (they use the correct CC-BY-SA license), though I'm not sure how to go about getting it. - UtherSRG (talk) 14:54, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

What would count as enough proof in this case? I have some photos of some I saw around what I believe was the Nevada border with a geotag. Is this enough to count as a source? Evenite (talk) 16:41, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

No need. The range map was updated in Dec 2022 after the above discussion. And no, what you suggest would be WP:OR. - UtherSRG (talk) 19:18, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

there is a new map out but so far only found on social media and news services. If you go to the Ventana Wildlife Society website it can't be found

https://www.marinij.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SJM-L-CONDORS-1019-90.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 -rudyard (talk) 18:31, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

Clarification

I'd be happy to rewrite this sentence if someone could explain it to me :) Under "Other premature death"

"...due to contact with golden eagles, whose talons enable defense of carrion against condors." -rudyard (talk) 18:16, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

I'd read that as meaning golden eagles use their deadly talons to defend the eagles' meals of carrion from condors, sometimes resulting in the condors' deaths. -- Avocado (talk) 20:22, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

I deleted the second part of the sentence. It did read rather strangely, and the fact that the eagles use their talons while conflicting with the condors doesn't need to be said. pillowcrow 04:39, 30 October 2025 (UTC)

Main image

The resolution of the image in the speciesbox is not great. Its also redundant as there's already an image of it in the same pose in the article's body. Also, ventral views are generally not great for previews. I think this image is better. What do you guys think? Bloopityboop (talk) 12:18, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

I'd prefer one without a tag on it, but I know that's a difficult ask. Looking at the other images in the article, I don't see anything better that would fit as a main image. So yeah. - UtherSRG (talk) 18:42, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

Aside from the tag, you've got a dark bird in front of a dark background. The bird itself doesn't stand out in the image. pillowcrow 05:41, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Relationship with humans

The paragraph regarding animal sacrifice is confusing, to me at least. There is reference to an researcher, Synder, "Some researchers such as Snyder believe that this practice of animal sacrifice contributed to the condor's decline, writing that California's Native Americans killed up to 700 condors each year" but then goes on to state 'no doubt an unrealistically high estimate", writing that any estimate "would remain impressively high even if divided by 10'."

What is the reader supposed to learn from this paragraph?

My vote is to delete it or alter it to provide more context. ~2026-37169-1 (talk) 00:57, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

I removed some of the information that seemed unnecessary. I agree that it was worded strangely. The whole section feels a bit unnecessary, considering that it's not so much about the bird's relationship with humans as its relevance to Native American culture, which is quite specific. I've seen similar sections on other animal pages that go into detail about Native American myths related to the animal. I'd be fine with removing the whole section. pillowcrow 06:03, 23 January 2026 (UTC)

Some of the information might have been unnecessary, but I feel that the claims made by Snyder about how 700 birds were killed each year by Native Americans preposterous and as Wilbur says, it is likely that less than a couple of dozen were killed this way. I'd like the section to stay as it is please as I wrote most of it. The relevance of these grand birds to the native peoples can't be overstated and to delete a small paragraph at the end of the article seems unnecessary. I recommend reading the article from the American Indian Art magazine (Winter 1993 vol. 19) titled "The California Condor and the California Indians" for background info.Richard Nowell (talk) 17:37, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

I appreciate your sincere request. With all due respect, however, my opinion still stands. The opinion of two researchers regarding how many condors were, at one time, killed each year by natives just doesn't feel relevant to the article. And I don't doubt that the condor is important to the culture and folklore of certain Native American groups. At the very least, the section needs to be better written and perhaps renamed—or if the section title remains, the content needs to be expanded so that it covers more than just Native American myths. But again, the fact that an animal has a place within a specific culture really isn't itself very meaningful (in the context of a Wikipedia article). I understand that you have a certain attachment to the content if you wrote it, but that's also not relevant to whether the content is worthy of inclusion. pillowcrow 21:48, 16 March 2026 (UTC)

The paragraph that has recently been edited sprang from a lack of information about estimates that had been put forward in literature cited in this article. At that time, looking back, it said "Some researchers, such as Noel Snyder, believe that this practice of making ceremonial clothing contributed to the condor's decline." After adding the various citations, the paragraph gave relevant sources icluding the book by Wilbur that likely has a more robust figure, but as he says, it is hard to make an estimate. Certainly the 700 birds annually as suggested by Snyder seems a figure produced from nowhere.

The section does need to be edited. but I venture that the two books i) Wilbur, S. (2021). "Condors and Indians" and ii) Snyder, N.F.R.; Snyder, H. (2000). The California condor: a saga of natural history and conservation" be kept as relevant citations.Richard Nowell (talk) 11:15, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

The idea that using condors for ceremonial clothing may have been a factor in the bird's decline is fine to include, I suppose. I think there's very little evidence to support that though, so at best it would just be a short insertion somewhere else in the article, where population decline is already mentioned. It doesn't really justify a section dedicated wholly to the condor's place in Native American culture. pillowcrow 00:51, 21 March 2026 (UTC)