The skin of the head and neck is capable of flushing noticeably in response to emotional state, which serves to communicate between individuals. The middle toe is greatly elongated, and the hinder one but slightly developed, while the talons of all the toes are comparatively straight and blunt. The feet are thus more adapted to walking as in their relatives the storks, and of little use as weapons or organs of prehension as in birds of prey and Old World vultures. The female, contrary to the usual rule among birds of prey, is smaller than the male. California Condor's head (adult)Sexual maturity and breeding behavior do not appear in the condor until 5 or 6 years of age. They may live for 50 years or more, and mate for life. The South American condor prefers roosting and breeding at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 m (10,000–16,000 ft).

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There on inaccessible ledges of rock, its nest consisting merely of a few sticks placed around the eggs, it deposits one or two bluish-white eggs, weighing about 10 ounces and from 3 to 4 inches in length, during the months of February and March every second year. The egg hatches after 54–58 days of incubation by both parents. If the chick or egg is lost or removed, another egg is laid to take its place. Researchers and breeders take advantage of this behavior to double the reproductive rate by taking the first egg away for hand-rearing, causing the parents to lay a second egg which they are generally allowed to raise.

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