A California condor rests in an aviary in Big Sur, California. The California condor is a scavenger, meaning it feeds primarily on carrion (dead animals). Its head is bald to prevent disease and infection from developing in feathers as the bird digs its head into animal carcasses.
The bald head and strong beak of this California condor are not fashion statements—they are useful adaptations.
Like all vultures, California condors are scavengers. They eat the carcasses of dead animals. When they eat, the birds often insert their entire heads into the belly of a carcass, which is full of harmful bacteria. The lack of feathers keeps bacteria and rotting, decomposing flesh from sticking to the condor's head.
The California condor's beak is large and powerful. It is also very sharp. It needs to be, in order to feed on carcasses. The beaks of California condors are strong enough to break the bones of animals such as goats and pigs. They are sharp enough to tear the tough hide of horses and cattle.
Despite their fierce appearance, however, California condors are no danger to people or pets.
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a modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence. An adaptation is passed from generation to generation.
(singular: bacterium) single-celled organisms found in every ecosystem on Earth.
hard, protruding jaws of a bird.
largest land bird of North America, with a wingspan of 3 meters (9.5 feet).
dead body.
cows and oxen.
wild or savage.
leather skin of an animal.
bird that mostly eats dead animals.
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Food Chains and Webs
A food chain outlines who eats whom. A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem. Each organism in an ecosystem occupies a specific trophic level or position in the food chain or web. Producers, who make their own food using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, make up the bottom of the trophic pyramid. Primary consumers, mostly herbivores, exist at the next level, and secondary and tertiary consumers, omnivores and carnivores, follow. At the top of the system are the apex predators: animals who have no predators other than humans. Help your class explore food chains and webs with these resources.
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Food Chains and Webs
A food chain outlines who eats whom. A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem. Each organism in an ecosystem occupies a specific trophic level or position in the food chain or web. Producers, who make their own food using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, make up the bottom of the trophic pyramid. Primary consumers, mostly herbivores, exist at the next level, and secondary and tertiary consumers, omnivores and carnivores, follow. At the top of the system are the apex predators: animals who have no predators other than humans. Help your class explore food chains and webs with these resources.