Half fluff, half feather

Konira our Andean Condor chick has gradually been shedding her fluffy down. She hatched out looking like a fluff ball, but now she is a mix of feathers and down. Konira is three months old and about half way to becoming a fully-feathered bird. She certainly doesn’t look like an adult, but at 7.3 kilos the chick is close to her adult weight. When she hatched she only weighed 183 grams!Native to South America, Andean Condor’s are threatened in the wild. Konira’s parents Bruce and Connie are the only breeding pair in Australasia and the QBE Free-Flight Bird Show team hopes that Konira will feature in future  shows to help raise awareness about the plight of these magnificent birds. She won’t be starting training any time soon even though she already has a wingspan that out does almost any bird! When Konira is an adult, her wingspan will be an incredible three metres!Konira may not be in the air just yet, but you can check out  Leslie, also Bruce and Connie’s offspring,  in action at the QBE Free-Flight Bird Show, click here for more information.By Fiona Millist, Digital Intern[nodepicker==video==6501==lightbox==size_535_327]