The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion. The female condor is smaller than the male, an exception to the rule among birds of prey. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. It is generally considered to be the largest bird of prey in the world. It has a maximum wingspan of 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) and weight of 15 kg (33 lb). Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. The Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus) is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus Vultur. Vultur fossilis Moreno & Mercerat, 1891.Sarcorhamphus aequatorialis Sharpe, 1874.Expect rough dirt roads in the countryside, a good reason to go in the dry season. Bolivian driving procedures are largely intuitive and perhaps not understandable to non-Bolivians. It really helps if someone in the group speaks Spanish. Bolivians are very nice people who consistently made us welcome. Be aware that while Bolivia has the infrastructure for tourism, it may not always operate to your expectations and patience and good will are required. Though we never met Nick and Carolina, they were always there for us via email and we know how much care they put into orchestrating this trip. It is great to know that Bolivia has the capacity to share their special birds with others in the world. We were able to spend ``quality time`` with the plush crested jay - a favourite. The Red Fronted and Blue Throated macaws, and other species in their habitat, were a big high point in our birding travels. In all we identified 161 species, and quite a few that we wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. We visited the Kenneth Lee Ethnography Museum and fish museum at the university, and Lake Suarez, and Marina helped us understand what we were seeing. Marina took excellent care of us and we visited rich birding areas by car and boat. The second part of our trip was to Trinidad where we visited the Blue Throated Macaw Preserve with a guide who did her thesis on this species. This is why we prefer to work with local guides whenever possible. Not only did our guide Saul and driver Jose take excellent care of us, but we found them to be fascinating people with so much knowledge of Bolivia to share. We met other travelers who were on their own at Refugio de Volcanes and believe we had a better experience because we had an English speaking guide. We visited great birding areas near Santa Cruz, Refugio de Volcanes at Amboro National Park, Samaipata and the Red Fronted Macaw Preserve, and also birded hot spots along the way. They started us out at an excellent and well located hotel in Santa Cruz. Nick and Carolina did an excellent job putting together a 10 day trip with expert English speaking guides that achieved our goals of seeing distinctive birds of the region. We contacted Nick's Adventures Bolivia to help us plan a birdwatching trip in Eastern Bolivia.
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