Page:Condor10(1).djvu/6

 olume X January-February 1908 Number I LIFE HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA CONDOR PART II.--HISTORICAL DATA AND RANGE OF THE CONDOR By WILLIAM L. FINLEY WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY HERMAN T. BOHLMAN AND THE AUTHOR HE report that the California Condor (Gymnogyps cah.'orn[anus) will soon become extinct is not without foundation. It has a range more restricted than any other bird of prey. Since the time when the western part of the United States was settled, the breeding range has contracted, and the condor's numbers have greatly decreased; altho it is still found in the wilder mountainous sections, it is nowhere common. Formerly the California Condor was frequently seen about the mountainous regions of central and southern California. The birds were fearless and tame about their nesting places. There are many records of their being shot merely because they furnished good marks for irresponsible hunters who wandered thru these mountains. The main cause which has been given for the decrease in condor numbers seems to be that when stock raising became common in California years ago, in order to secure pasture during the dry months, the rangers were compelled to drive their herds back into the more remote mountainous parts. Here they invaded the retreats of panthers, grizzlies, and coyotes. These preyed upon calves and sheep and created considerable damage. The quickest and best way of getting rid of these animals was by baiting the carcasses with poison. Since the condors came to feed on the poisoned animals, numbers of the big birds were undoubtedly killed in this way. Almost any other bird might hold its own in the struggle for existence against a NOTE--My first article on the Life History of the California Condor was published in the Nov.-Dec., 19o6 , number. Since then Mr. W. Lee Chambers, who has been collecting data on the California Condor for several years, has kindly loaned me his notes and I have embraced some of these in the following article, which will be followed by a third article on the homelife and habits of this bird.--W. L. F.