Practice listening

Hey guys, I recently discovered a great blog site, written by a very cleaver, and inspiring mother in the United States.  Take a look at her latest post on Colombia’s national bird, the Andean Condor.

Blog Post Link: http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2009/04/colombian-national-bird.html?m=0

Colombian National Bird

Colombian National Bird - The Andean CondorThe Andean Condor (Vulture gryphus) is found throughout the Andes regions of South America. It is one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of over 10.5 feet (3.5 meters). It is recognized for its ability to fly at great heights, and it has amazing stamina. In a day it can fly over 1,000 km. It is characterized by its longevity, and is therefore known as “the eternal bird.” Another interesting feature is that it typically only flies on sunny days.

The Andean Condor symbolizes the Colombian people’s freedom and sovereignty. It was selected as a national symbol in 1834.

Unfortunately, it is considered a near threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN, http://www.iucn.org/), and it was placed on the US Endangered Species List in 1970. It is believed that fewer than 100 of them actually still live in Colombia. My Colombian husband saw his first Andean Condor in a zoo here in the U.S.

Some zoos participating in the Andean Condor Species Survival Plan are: San Diego Zoo (the Coordinator of the program), Denver Zoo (CO), Brookfield Zoo (IL), Beardsley Zoo (CT), Cincinnati Zoo (OH), Fort Worth Zoo (TX), Oregon Zoo (OG), Boise Zoo (ID), and San Antonio Zoo (TX). You can find out more info, by googling the zoo and Andean Condor Species Survival Plan. You could also plan to take your child to a zoo where he/she can see the national bird for him/herself.

Glossary

Throughout: is a preposition and it means all the way through, or all across. For example: Empanadas can be found throughout all of Colombia.
Wingspan: is a noun and it is the measurement of a bird’s or an aircraft’s wings when completely extended.
Longevity: is a noun and means long life.
Threatened: is used as an adjective in this post.  In regards to Flora or Fauna it means that a species is near extinction.

About the Medellin Buzz

The Medellin Buzz is lighthearted news source for English as a Second Language learners in Medellin, Colombia.  The Medellin Buzz is written in a way that is easy to understand.  The difficult vocabulary words are in bold, these words are defined in the Glossary.