While searching for mentions of the California condor in books about the history of California, I happened upon a book concerning the exploration and colonization of California by Russians. This book started me on a bit of an expedition. This post is a report on what I have learned so far.
Tag: History
An early report of death due to microtrash
A significant threat to California condors today is “microtrash”, small bits of trash that condors find on the ground and eat. This post provides some current information about the microtrash problem and then notes a century-old case of microtrash causing the death of a condor.
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State bird
The official state bird of California is the California quail, a fine representative for the state. The California quail was chosen, in the late 1920s, by a state-wide, albeit, unofficial vote. Among the top candidates for state bird was the California condor. Here’s the story.
Early illustrations: 1797-1878
For this, the 100th post to this blog, I present 10 early illustrations of the California condor from books, academic journals, and popular magazines.
Seeking specimens and information
Publications concerning the California condor have sometimes been about seeking, rather than conveying, information. This post includes some examples that reveal more of the human-California condor saga. They are presented in chronological order.
