The condor has an average wingspread of nine feet and weighs about 20 pounds when fully grown. It is the largest North American land bird. Condors may be identified in flight by the nearly straight leading edge of their long, broad wings, which curve slightly forward toward the tip. Extended primary feathers on the wing tips and a broad fan-shaped tail are also characteristic. The adult bird has a prominent triangular patch of white under the wings, and the head is orange.
Condors generally nest only once every other year and lay but one egg.
They do not build nests, but use the soft earth within caves in sandstone cliffs or bluffs. Two sanctuaries have been established in Los Padres National Forest so that condors can roost, nest and bathe free from molestation by curious humans. The Sisquoc Sanctuary of 1,200 acres in the San Rafael Wilderness was established in 1937, and in 1947 the 53,000 acre Sespe Condor Sanctuary was established in Ventura County north of Fillmore. The areas provide nesting sites in inaccessible, high rocky cliffs. Public entry is restricted in both areas.