Discover the National Bird of Colombia

Timothy Hill

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Colombia is a state in northwest South The us with coastlines on both of those the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The flora and fauna of the region are some of the most numerous in the earth, with about 10% of the Amazon rainforest situated within just its borders. There are additional than 1,900 unique bird species that either dwell in or migrate to Colombia. How on earth can a nation with such a various spectrum of birds pick out just one particular to be their national bird? Is it the large beaked keel-billed toucan? What about the lengthy-legged, fluffy pink flamingo? Or the scarlet macaw, a gorgeous bird sporting the major colours of crimson, blue, and yellow? Browse on to uncover the countrywide chook of Colombia!

What is the National Chook of Colombia?

The countrywide bird of Colombia is the Andean condor. The Andean condor is not a vibrant tropical bird. Instead, it is one particular of the largest flying birds on the world and a image of power, electric power, and wellness. The Andean condor is an honored fowl in many South American nations around the world and is also the nationwide bird of Bolivia.

Largest Birds of Prey - Andean Condor
The Andean Condor can improve the shade of their pores and skin in accordance to their mood.

©BearFotos/Shutterstock.com

How Large Are Andean Condors?

Andean Condors are about 4 feet tall — compare that to the normal kitchen area counter that is 3 toes tall! They weigh about 20 to 33 pounds and have an remarkable wingspan. Their wingspan can achieve 10.5 feet! For reference, the ordinary workplace cubicle is 6 feet by 8 feet and if you are doing the job from household the average bedroom/residence office environment is 12 feet x 14 feet. So, you get an thought of how huge and respectable these birds are!

Where Do Andean Condors Dwell?

Andean condors live along the Andean Mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. In Colombia, 1 of the places you may well be blessed adequate to see a person or a lot more is Purace Nationwide Park. Andean condors stay on the peaks of the mountains on the edges of rocky cliffs. They swoop down about grasslands hunting for lifeless carcasses due to the fact they are scavengers. Thanks to their dimensions and pounds, they have to use thermals (warm air currents) to carry them by the air. They float from thermal to thermal gracefully soaring higher than the terrain.

What Is on the Beak of the Andean Condor?

The head of the Andean condor has a number of fleshy wattles, very similar to turkeys. There is a large, comb-like composition known as a caruncle on prime of the beak of the male Andean condor. The girls do not have a caruncle. Each males and girls have bald, reddish-brown heads and a fluffy white collar of feathers. Their bodies are all black with white-edged wings. At the finish of their wings, they have feathers that lengthen and seem like fingers.

Close up of a Andean Condor
Male Andean condors have a caruncle on the leading of their beaks.

©iStock.com/julof90

Is the Andean Condor Highlighted on the Colombian Flag?

No. The Colombian flag has three horizontal stripes on it with the major yellow stripe two times as large as the blue and red stripe underneath it. If you consider a quick look at the scarlet macaw you would see they have the exact coloring as the Colombian flag. This may well have built it a good decision for the nationwide chicken, but the heritage of the highly effective Andean condor supersedes the great seems to be of the scarlet macaw.

Is the Andean Condor Featured on the Revenue of Colombia?

Certainly. The Andean condor employed to be on the 1 peso banknote but it is no lengthier in circulation. The banknote highlighted a huge perched condor with its wings distribute broad. The banknote was to start with issued in August of 1973 but has given that been withdrawn.

The 2012 coin series attributes the flora and fauna of Colombia including the adhering to animals:

  • 50 pesos: spectacled bear
  • 200 pesos: scarlet macaw
  • 500 pesos: glass frog
  • 1,000 pesos: loggerhead sea turtle

What is the Coat of Arms of Colombia?

The Coat of Arms of Colombia features an Andean condor perched at the top of a shield. The condor is holding an olive crown in its beak. The shield has a few sections with the leading that includes two cornucopias, a person spilling gold and silver cash and the other spilling tropical fruits. A gold and red pomegranate is amongst them. The center portion has a purple cap on the tip of a gold spear. The cap is a Phrygian cap, which initially arrived from the ancient state of Phrygia but has come to be a symbol of flexibility and is in some cases called “the pink cap of liberty”. The third area of the defend functions two ships with what is now Panama separating them, representing the two oceans that Colombia borders.

Are Andean Condors an Endangered Species?

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is not an endangered species, but it is considered “vulnerable” by the IUCN. It has a small vary in Colombia and conservationists are worried about its lowering numbers. The inhabitants of Andean condors in South The usa is believed to be all-around 6,700 people today. Some of their threats are overhunting, poisoning from pesticides, and farmers targeting them by environment bait of lifeless sheep that are tainted with poison. Just one of the conservation suggestions is to train the critical cultural importance of the Andean condor to a lot more individuals so they find out to respect and secure these awesome birds.

The Andean Condor can live to be 50 years old.
The Andean Condor can live to be 50 yrs old.

©Gus Martinie/Shutterstock.com

What Other Animals Reside in Colombia?

There are many other animals that dwell in Colombia, which includes a selection of monkeys. The Colombian squirrel monkey is one of the most popular, but you could also locate Brumback’s night monkey and in the much northern dry forests you may well locate the cotton-top rated tamarin.

Jaguars and pumas are some of the wild cats in Colombia, but it is very unheard of to see these elusive cats.

The critically endangerebod Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is limited to the Orinoco River basin in Colombia and Venezuela. According to the IUCN, there are somewhere among 90 to 254,190 Orinoco crocs still left.

Some of the other birds that can be observed in Colombia incorporate the keel-billed toucan, Andean cock-of-the-rock, scarlet macaw, white-tipped quetzal, and hundreds of pink flamingoes. There really are some outstanding fowl species in Colombia, but the Andean condor is a regal alternative to signify its nation as the national bird of Colombia!

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