Andean Condors at Aviary are brooding a fertile egg
An Andean Condor chick will be asking “are you my mother” this summer at Pittsburgh's National Aviary.
At 36-years-old, Lianni hatched an egg recently and with the help of her male partner, Lurch, the pair of Andean Condors, are now brooding a fertile egg that is expected to hatch in late May or early June.
Andean Condors are considered near threatened with a declining wildlife population and the romance between the pair can help replenish the birds' population, according to Pilar Fish, the aviary's senior director of zoological advancements and avian medicine.
Andean Condors, a South American bird, are some of the largest birds that can fly, and they are part of the vulture family.
“For months, we were really happy to see the natural process happen,” Fish said. “They have a breeding season once a year that lasts for months of courtship. It's amazing to see.”
Like other bird species, the male Andean Condor will put on “elaborate displays” that include Lurch shaking his wings “like a fan and rumbling like a helicopter in an attempt to gain the affection of Lianni.”
And in the end, Lianni decided that his displays merited their bonding.
“Through the courting season she became very close with him and they had a successful pair bonding,” Fish said. “We know that Lianni has loved Lurch for years. And they've bonded for years. But during the mating season, it's a question of if you'll have a bonding season.”
This isn't Lianni's first time having a chick. According to Fish, Lianni has mothered four chicks in the past that were then released into the wild in South America
But Fish said that some years the courtship ritual ends up with no offspring and the process is furnished along with the aviary's staff providing the Andean Condor equivalent of setting the mood for intimacy.
“There's a team of people behind the scenes taking care of them,” Fish said. “In an accredited zoo setting, their natural behaviors and needs are met. We know by working with wild Andean Condors that they have certain things that they need in order for them to lay an egg and incubate it. Their natural behaviors are a testament to the level of care they get.”
Fish said that even with coronavirus precautions in place, the care of the Andean Condors and the other 550 animals housed at the aviary is essential, and staffers are taking care of the birds seven days a week.
And even with the aviary closed, Fish said, amateur and expert birders alike can spot the love birds in their outdoor cage by walking through the park surrounding the aviary.
There, onlookers can spot the couple taking turns sitting on the egg.
“It looks like they're just sitting but they're working hard to keep it perfect and they're doing a really good job,” Fish said. “There's a lot of work to incubating an egg. They have to roll it at a certain time to promote the growth.”
Fish said it's too early to say what the chick's fate will be, but once it's hatched the couple will continue to take care of it.
“It was good news, which we need during this time,” Fish said. “The aviary is closed, but life is going on.”
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