Andean condor Facts for Kids
Vultur gryphus · VUL-ter GRY-fus
A huge black vulture with the longest wings of any land bird.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 17 to 33 lb7.7 to 15 kg1
- 📏 3.2 to 4.2 ft98 cm to 1.3 m1 long
- 🎂 50 years50 years1
- 🍽️ meat
- Needs help (Vulnerable)
An Andean condor is a huge black bird with a white collar. It lives in the mountains of South America. It eats animals that have already died.
Andean condors live in the Andes mountains of South America, from Venezuela down to the far south. They are mostly scavengers, which means they eat animals that have already died. Their wings are the longest of any land bird.
The Andean condor has the longest wingspan of any land bird, about as wide as a small car is long. It lives in the Andes mountains of South America and along coastal mountains, from western Venezuela south to the tip of the continent. It is mostly a scavenger, so it cleans up animals that have already died, and sometimes it takes small animals such as rabbits. A condor can travel a very long way in a day.
How big is a andean condor?
Andean condor in numbers
| Length | 3.2 to 4.2 ft98 cm to 1.3 m1 |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 17 to 33 lb7.7 to 15 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 50 years50 years1estimated, in the wild |
| What it eats | animals that have already died, and sometimes small animals such as rabbits |
| Where it lives | mountains and coastal mountains from Venezuela to the southern tip of South America |
| What kind | Birds |
| Is it in danger? | Needs help (Vulnerable)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- An Andean condor has the longest wings of any land bird.
- It can travel a very long way in a day.
- It cleans up animals that have already died.
Compare the andean condor
Friends and neighbours
Golden eagle
Jaguar
CapybaraThree questions
Books about the andean condor, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the andean condor for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Vultur gryphus (Andean condor), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Andean condor (Q170598), checked 30 October 2026.