Southern Crested Caracara

Southern Caracara ( Caracara plancus )

The Southern Caracara ( Caracara plancus ) is a falcon -like bird from the middle and southern South America.

Features

The Caracara is 54-66 cm long, and reaches a wingspan of 108-144 cm. The tail length is 23 to 28 cm. Males stay smaller, they reach about 91 % of the size of the females (calculated from the mean values ​​of the wingspan ). Animals from the southern area of ​​distribution are greater than from more northern regions.

The bird is mostly dark brown, with black crest, white, head and bare red face. Chest, neck and the long tail are black and white banded. The tail ends in a wide black band. The tops of the wings are dark brown. The bill is blue-gray, the legs and feet are yellow iris brown. Young birds are brighter, the underside is brown. Overall, young birds are less colored contrast, more than dashed banded.

Occurrence

The Caracara lives, with the exception of the Amazon region in Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, with the exception of the northern Andes in Chile and Argentina and the Falkland Islands. It prefers open landscapes, such as savannas, cattle ranches and walks in the mountains at altitudes up to 1400 meters.

Behavior

Unlike the falcons ( genus Falco ) the crested caracara is not a fast -flying hunters, but spends a lot of time on the ground. With his long legs and toes he is well adapted to running in open habitats. To prey include invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and occasionally small birds and mammals or copra. Mainly they feed on carrion and is sometimes found together with vultures on larger carcasses. In contrast to these, he is not sailing but flies with powerful and noisy wing beats. That's why he can go looking for food earlier than the need of the warm updrafts of the morning and finds carrion vulture earlier than this.

Reproduction

The nesting habits of Schopfkarakaras are unusual for a hawk, as it builds its own nest, instead of using the abandoned Horst another bird of prey. The large nest of twigs and vines often lies on the ground. The clutch of 2-4 eggs is incubated for about a month. After fledging, the young birds are still partially fed for several months.