The Koford’s Ridge Condor Chick

Brought to you by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Bald-headed with naked, pink skin, the four-month old California Condor huddles in a cliffside cavity waiting for its parents to return with fresh carrion.

The Koford’s Ridge chick, as it's known, was born into a life of stardom thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s live bird cam, which offers a rare glimpse into this endangered species’ nesting season.

The featured nest, located in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary near Hooper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, was built by the chick’s 21-year-old mother and 6-year-old father. The two met last fall and became proud parents in late-April.

Because California Condors can forage as far as 200 miles in just one day, hungry chicks are frequently left alone for long periods, which is why the feed mostly only features the chick, poking its head out of the cozy crater every now and then. Its parents will bring back bits of scavenged pig, rabbit, deer, or sea lion and regurgitate the chunks of meat into its mouth.

The California Condor Recovery Program, headed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the camera’s host, releases captive-bred birds to pair up with the region's wild condors. The Koford’s Ridge chick’s mother, for example, was hatched at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and has been a wild breeder since 2001.

There are currently about 400 California Condors in the world, including 230 wild individuals in California and Arizona. These numbers continue to rise due to captive-release techniques.

In about two months, around mid-October or November, the Koford’s Ridge chick will be ready to leave the nest. But the story won't end there: Biologists recently tagged the chick so that they will be able to track its activities even after it bids farewell.