Andean condors have been nesting in the same cliffside grotto high in the Andes for over 2,000 years, leaving behind a massive pile of guano that is now providing insight into their past. Despite significant environmental changes in the region, the birds have remained faithful to raising chicks in the same location. Rachel Reid, a paleoecologist at Virginia Tech, notes that this waste material can teach us about how populations, communities, and ecosystems respond to environmental change. With a wingspan of over 3 meters and weighing as much as a toddler, Andean condors are the largest birds of prey and are threatened with extinction, with only about 10,000 remaining. Understanding their behavior and ecology is crucial to conservation efforts, but studying them is challenging due to their remote mountain habitat and constant flight. Matthew Duda, a paleoecologist at Queen’s University, explains that capturing and monitoring the birds is difficult.
Source: Science News