The Andean Condor has a wingspan of over twelve feet and is one of the largest birds in the world.  He is a scavenger, a type of buzzard.  He’s got black and white wings and red eyes and a really.big.beak.

One day in December when we visited the zoo, we stood watching the condors and the bigger one knocked the littler one of its perch.  Now, I assume this is a mated pair, i.e. a female and a male, but I don’t know for sure.  I said, joking, “Aww, are you gonna take that?”  Not a second after I spoke, the displaced condor rushed the victor and a ten minute battle ensued.

At one point, one of the birds’ wingtips banged the cage and made a very loud sound, like something heavy hitting it.  It became immediately apparent why their cage is as sturdy as it is.

The wingspan is stunning.

So are their eyes.  Except the bars got in the way…

And in this one, a branch…

And then the other one caught up and whammo!

Holy she-it.

Maybe we could go look at the penguins next?

This one looks like art.  You can suddenly see where the majesty of some First Nations’ bird costumes come from, nu?

Majestic fricken animals.

But no, I do NOT want to pet them.

I did, however, in my not-stage voice, comment to my husband after a few minutes of watching the fight, “I wonder if this is a marital spat or foreplay?”

What I didn’t realize is that a family with younger children had walked up behind us, and I got quite the glare from the father.

Oops.

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Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.  I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!