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"Volvime X Jan\iary-rebr\iary 1908 N\imber 1 



IvlFE HISTORY OF THE CAUFORNIA CONDOR 

 PART II.— HISTORICAI, DATA AND RANGE OF THE CONDOR * 



By WIIvIvIAM L. FINLEY 

 WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY HERMAN T. BOHLMAN AND THE AUTHOR 



THE report that the California Condor (^Gymnogyps caUforniamis) will soon 

 become extinct is not without foundation. It has a range more restricted 

 than any other bird of prey. Since the time when the western part of the 

 United States was settled, the breeding range has contracted, and the condor's 

 numbers have greatly decreased; altho it is still found in the wilder mountainous 

 sections, it is nowhere common. 



Formerly the California Condor was frequently seen about the mountainous 

 regions of central and southern California. The birds were fearless and tame 

 about their nesting places. There are many records of their being shot merely 

 because they furnished good marks for irresponsible hunters who wandered thru 

 these mountains. 



The main cause which has been given for the decrease in condor numbers 

 seems to be that when stock raising became common in California years ago, in 

 order to secure pasture during the dry months, the rangers were compelled to drive 

 their herds back into the more remote mountainous parts. Here they invaded the 

 retreats of panthers, grizzlies, and coyotes. These preyed upon calves and sheep 

 and created considerable damage. The quickest and best way of getting rid of 

 these animals was by baiting the carcasses with poison. Since the condors came to 

 feed on the poisoned animals, numbers of the big birds were undoubtedly killed in 

 this way. 



Almost any other bird might hold its own in the struggle for existence against 



a NOTE — My first article on the Life History of the California Condor was published in the Nov. -Dec, 1906, 

 number. Since then Mr. W. I,ee Chambers, who has been collecting data on the California Condor for several years, 

 has kindly loaned me his notes and I have embraced some of these in the following article, which will be followed 

 by a third article on the home life and habits of this bird. — W. L. F. 



