California Condor Eben McMillan 9 September 1963 Ian came at 5:20 A.M. We left in my pickup for Farnsworth Ranch in Glenville, Kern County, California. Mrs. Evelyn Farnsworth had phoned me last evening at 6:30 p.m. informing me that she had counted 15 condor circling over their ranch buildings two miles south of Glenville last evening about 4:30 p.m. and stated she thought some of them were roosting on the hillside south of where they drag the carcasses of any of their purebred cattle that might die from one cause or another. I told Mrs. Farnsworth that I would be at her place early this morning. We arrived at the Farnsworth Ranch at 7:20 A.M. The morning was warm, bright and clear with a west breeze blowing at times. Six condor were in sight perched in trees near the carcasses of two cows that had been dragged to the spot where the remains of other older carcasses lay and which spot is a dumping ground for death cattle on the Farnsworth Ranch. The last of those carcasses had been dragged to this place sometime on the date of Sept. 6, 1963. Both of the later carcasses were stretched out with the feet under them and the backbone forming the high part of the bodies. One of those carcasses had been opened on the shoulder, ribs and hindquarter with a sharp instrument. The last animal had not been opened but showed signs of having been fed on by carrion birds in the area about the vaginal opening that showed signs of having been much swelled and extended due to its death being caused by an unsuccessful parturition. Two of the condor were perched in a small dead oak that stood about 70 feet Northwest of the carcasses and perhaps ten feet higher by ground level than was the case with the carcasses. We could see no white bar on the back of those condors wings - Their heads appeared to be dark and covered with down. We were looking at those two birds directly into the sun, and were seeing the dark, or shadowy, side of the birds. The other four condor were perched in pine trees on the hillside to the south of the carcasses. At 7:35 A.M. Ian and I walked up canyon from where we parked pickup on knoll above road Southeast of Farnsworth.