California Condor Eben Millman 21 July 1964 Mr. Harris also told us of gliding in one of these cyclonic winds with what he took to be a condor, some months ago. He thought the bird he was sharing this updraft with had a dark head that was feathered. Harris said he was 7 or 8 feet from the bird when it dove below him and was lost from his sight. Harris claims to have observed swallows at 12000 ft. hawking insects in the air. He claimed to have seen large hawk-like birds as high as [illegible] 16,000 feet. elevation. Mr. Harris stated that he has observed large birds flying at 60 plus miles per hour ground air speed. He claims it is not an unusual incident for a glider pilot to reach air speeds of 125 miles per hour or more in level flight. Mr. Harris feels that condor, with natural [illegible] characteristics that enable them to reach much higher perfection in soaring flight than is the case with a fixed wing glider, should have no problem in soaring 100 miles per hour or even faster when at high altitudes and with favorable air currents.