California condor
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˌkælɪˈfɔrnjə ˈkɒndɔr/
- US
:
buitre de California
- In flight, the California condor shows its characteristic black feathers and striking white underwing patches.
- wild California condors
- California condor release
- number of California condors
Examples
-
In prehistoric times, California condors ranged from southern British Columbia to Baja California and across the southern United States to Florida.
Academic text (1999) -
Although slightly smaller than their Andean cousins, California condors are North America's heaviest fully flighted bird, weighing up to 24 pounds.
Academic text (1999) -
No one really knows why California condors almost disappeared.
Academic text (1999) -
The last wild California condor was captured and brought into captivity in 1987.
Academic text (1999) -
Yes, there are declining or endangered species: the California condor and the whooping crane are the best known and perhaps the rarest.
Academic text (1991) -
California condors can weigh up to 24 pounds and are North America's heaviest fully flighted bird.
Academic text (1999) -
Starting from a low of 22 birds in 1983, the number of California condors alive today—160 at last count—is probably higher than it has been in at least a century.
Academic text (1999) -
Since the first chick was conceived and hatched in captivity in 1988, the number of California condors raised at the zoos each year has gradually risen to a record 20 in 1998.
Academic text (1999) -
Uncertainties aside, the California condor project has served as a model for releasing captive-hatched Andean condors in areas of South America where the birds were rare or eliminated due to habitat loss.
Academic text (1999) -
The California condor is a large bird native to western North America and is known for its impressive wingspan.
Synonyms
A very large North American bird that eats dead animals and is nearly extinct in the wild
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward place-name + animal-name combination: 'California' specifies geographic association and 'condor' names the large vulture species. This naming pattern is fully compositional and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer it denotes the condor associated with California.
Etymology
The name California condor combines California, the place where the bird lives, and condor, a word from a South American language for a 'very large vulture'. So the name gives a clear picture: a very large vulture from the California area, which is why it refers to the big endangered vulture found in western North America.