Updated 12 December 2019
Nonsense stories about the California condor were not uncommon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here’s one such story that was repeatedly published over the course of nearly 25 years.
Tag: *Updated
Explaining a mysterious death
Updated 4 December 2019
The headline “Rare Condor’s Fall from the Sky Remains a Puzzle” appears in the Fresno Bee newspaper for 26 May 1965. The article explains:
The condor’s mysterious death was witnessed Sunday by G. B. (Jerry) Coigny … He said it was making low circles about 50 feet high when it stopped flying and plummeted to the ground.
Here’s the story, as told in a government report and other publications.
Suddenly
Updated 4 December 2019
California condors have a reputation for suddenly appearing and disappearing. Here are 6 reports of this phenomenon from the 1850s to the 1970s.
Yet more color illustrations from books: 1883-2010
Updated 6 February 2020
This post offers 8 more illustrations of the California condor from books.
Continue reading “Yet more color illustrations from books: 1883-2010”
Classical music recordings
Updated 15 July 2018
This post considers 4 pieces of music that fall within a broad conception of “classical music”. All of these works include “condor” in their title.
But which condor is referred to by this music? None of the pieces clearly refer to the California condor; it’s either the Andean condor or it’s unclear. I’ll start with the latter.
Pseudogryps 