The California condor, with a nearly ten-foot wingspan, is the largest land bird in North America. Its range once stretched across the west, south to Baja California, and north to British Columbia. By 1940, this bird was on the verge of extinction from poaching, DDT contamination, habitat destruction, and lead poisoning from consuming carrion containing lead bullets. Captive breeding programs have helped stabilize the population, and today there are nearly 100 condors nesting and flying free in northern Arizona and southern Utah. In July 1999, two condors were spotted in the park. Sightings are rare and impossible to predict, but California condors may one day nest on the rugged cliffs. Turkey vultures are often mistaken for the much larger California condor. Female condors lay one egg every other year, and both parents incubate the egg and care for their offspring. A chick fledges by six months but may stay with its parents for one to two years. Identification tags help biologists track medical histories and behavioral patterns. A California condor’s head and neck are bald and pink, and black feathers circle the base of the neck.