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#615 was on the larger side of the spectrum: adult Condors can range from 15-25 pounds and as a pre-release juvenile Condor #615 weighed in at 23 pounds! This bird was a rough-and-tumble, strong, young Condor taking after the high ranks of his mother, an original, wild, founder bird nicknamed "Honsi." She had a bold disposition and was known for her lively offspring. #615's wild genes were on full display in our flight pen when he arrived from Oregon. He often thrashed around in the large aviary and enjoyed walking up the sides of the mesh like a huge parrot and "cling flapping" on the mesh walls until he would tire and eventually drop to land. He was also seen hanging from the ceiling flapping upside down at times- a first from our observations! He never seemed to tire.
However, this high level of rambunctious activity caused damage to his feathers and he ended up breaking the middle part of his tail feathers, possibly due to hard and frequent ground landings. We had to repair his broken tails feathers using a falconry technique called "imping," where we attached similar molted condor feathers that were collected and saved for that purpose. It worked well and he had an excellent take off and first flight over the coast upon his release!
Because he was an Oregon-reared bird and his mother had an Native American name, we decided to ask the Nez Perce Tribe Cultural Resources Department to name this bird. They were happy to help and offered Condor #615 the name, "Tui-nu-nut" (Tooy-new-newt) which translates as "No Tail."
However, this high level of rambunctious activity caused damage to his feathers and he ended up breaking the middle part of his tail feathers, possibly due to hard and frequent ground landings. We had to repair his broken tails feathers using a falconry technique called "imping," where we attached similar molted condor feathers that were collected and saved for that purpose. It worked well and he had an excellent take off and first flight over the coast upon his release!
Because he was an Oregon-reared bird and his mother had an Native American name, we decided to ask the Nez Perce Tribe Cultural Resources Department to name this bird. They were happy to help and offered Condor #615 the name, "Tui-nu-nut" (Tooy-new-newt) which translates as "No Tail."
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