64 



THE CONDOR 



Vol. X 



comer, but it was not serious, for he stayed about all the afternoon, and at one time 

 lit for a moment on the dead tree near the nest. The male drove him off, but only 

 chased him a short distance. 



The third condor seemed a trifle smaller than the other two, but he was almost 

 as brightly colored as the parents. We were inclined to think he was one of the 

 c Id ren of former years. We watched the three birds till six o'clock and then 

 climbed down to make camp. The parents were perched on the dead tree in front 

 of the nest, and the third bird on the mountain side above, and there they went to 

 sleep for the night. 



Early the next morning we found one of the birds, presumably the male, and 

 the intruder gone, while the other still sat on the tree-perch. About noon the father 

 appeared in the eastern sky. The mother saw him first and we were attracted by 

 her watching. We were surprised again to see the third bird following a little in 



PERCHED IN AN OAK ABOVE THE NEST: ALTHO THE BIRDS WERE BIG AND 



HEAVY THEY PERCHED READILY IN A TREE AND CLIMBED FROM LIMB 



TO LIMB, OFTEN USING THE HOOKED BILL TO HELP THEM 



the rear, and he came on down and stayed during the afternoon. The crops of 

 both birds were bulging out when' they returned, showing that they knew where to 

 get food. 



The young condor was now fifty-four days old, but he was still clothed in gray 

 down. It was over two months before the first black feathers began to show on his 

 wings, and they developed very slowly; for by the first week in July when we had 

 expected to complete our series, the young bird was not half feathered out, altho 

 he was three months and a half old and weighed over fifteen pounds. 



We could see that the parents were becoming more and more attached to the 

 nestling, and they were becoming tamer and tamer while we were about. The 

 nestling was wilder and more ferocious as he grew. The only way we could touch 

 him was by wearing heavy gloves or by blindfolding him. He lunged about and 

 fought while he was in the cave; but when we got him out of his home, he 



