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Northern Caracara

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Caracara
Species: C. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 Species of Birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. The falcons and caracaras are around 60 Species of diurnal birds of prey that comprise the family Falconidae. Caracara is a Genus of Birds of prey in the family Falconidae found throughout a large part of the Americas. plancus
Binomial name
Caracara plancus
(Miller, 1777)
Synonyms

Polyborus plancus

The Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus), also known as the Southern Crested Caracara, is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. John Frederick Miller (1759 - 1796 was an English illustrator mainly of botanical subjects In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. Birds of prey are Birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing using their keen senses especially vision The falcons and caracaras are around 60 Species of diurnal birds of prey that comprise the family Falconidae. It formerly included the Northern Caracara (C. The Northern Caracara or Northern Crested Caracara ( Caracara cheriway) called Audubon's Caracara in former times is a Bird of prey cheriway) of southern USA, Central America and northern South America, and the extinct Guadalupe Caracara (C. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. The Guadalupe Caracara, Caracara lutosa or lotusos, is an extinct Bird of prey belonging to the Falcon family (Falconidae lutosus) as subspecies. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. As presently defined, the Southern Caracara is restricted to central and southern South America. As its relatives, it was formerly placed in the genus Polyborus.

Contents

Description

It has a total length of 50-65 cm (20-26 in) and a wing-span of c. 120 cm (47 in). Individuals from the colder southern part of its range average larger than those from tropical regions. The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 The cap, belly, thights, most of the wings and tail-tip are dark brownish, the auriculars, throat and nape are whitish-buff, and the chest, neck, mantle, back, uppertail-coverts, crissum and basal part of the tail are whitish-buff barred dark brownish. In flight, the outer primaries show a large conspicious whitish-buff patch ('window'), as in several other species of caracaras. Flight feathers are the long stiff asymmetrically shaped but symmetrically paired Feathers on the Wings or Tail of a Bird; those on the Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae They are principally birds of South and Central America, just reaching the southern USA The legs are yellow and the bare facial skin and cere are deep yellow to reddish-orange. Juveniles resemble adults, but are paler, with streaking on the chest, neck and back, grey legs, and whitish, later pinkish-purple, facial skin and cere.

It can be separated from the similar Crested Caracara by its more extensive barring to the chest, brownish and often lightly mottled/barred scapulars (all blackish in Crested), and pale lower back with dark barring (uniform blackish in Crested). Individuals showing intermediate features are known from the small area of contact in north-central Brazil, but intergradation between the two species is generally limited. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld

Behavior

A bold, opportunistic raptor, often seen walking around on the ground looking for food. Mainly feeds on carcasses of dead animals, but will steal food from other raptors, raid bird nests, and take live prey if the possible arrives (mostly insects or other small prey, but at least up to the size of a Snowy Egret). The Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula) is a small white Heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established It is dominant over the Black Vulture and the Turkey Vulture at carcasses. The American Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus, also known as the Black Vulture, is a Bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard (or just "buzzard" is a Bird It is typically solitary, but several individuals may gather at a large food-source (e. g. dumps). Breeding takes place in the Austral spring/summer in the southern part of its range, but timing is less strict in warmer regions. Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' The nest is a large open structure, typically placed on the top of a tree or palm, but sometimes on the ground. Average is two eggs.

Range and habitat

The Southern Caracara occurs from Tierra del Fuego in southernmost South America north to the Amazon River region and southern Peru. Tierra del Fuego ( Spanish for " Land of Fire " in English tiˈɛərə dɛl ˈfweɪgoʊ] Spanish ˈtjerað̞elˈfweɰo is an Archipelago The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. An isolated population occurs on the Falkland Islands. It avoids the Andean highlands and dense humid forest, such as the Amazon rainforest, where largely restricted to relatively open sections along major rivers. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía Otherwise, it occurs in virtually any open or semi-open habitat and is often found near humans.

Status

Throughout most of its range, it is common to very common. It is likely to benefit from the widespread deforestation in tropical South America. Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland It is therefore considered to be of Least Concern by BirdLife International. Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation

References

External links

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