Caracara is a genus in the family Falconidae and the subfamily Polyborinae. It contains one extant species, the crested caracara, and one recently extinct species, the Guadalupe caracara. The crested caracara had in recent years been split into a northern species C. cheriway and a southern species C. plancus, but the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has voted to again merge the two, retaining C. plancus as the crested caracara.[1] The taxonomists of the International Ornithologists' Union have also merged them.[2]
| Caracara | |
|---|---|
| |
| Crested caracara (Caracara plancus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Subfamily: | Polyborinae |
| Genus: | Caracara Merrem, 1826 |
| Type species | |
| Vultur plancus Miller, JF, 1777
| |
| Species | |
|
and see text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Polyborus | |
Appearance
editThe crested caracara is distinguished by its long legs and medium size.[3] The birds can reach a length of 49–58 cm (19–23 in) from head to tail.[4] There are usually four points of identification of the caracara: strikingly white markings on the neck, the tip of both wings, and the tail.[5] Along with their medium length, the caracara also has a wingspan of 122–129 cm (48–51 in).[4] When flying, the caracara is often noted to have a pattern on their underside that looks like a cross.[6]
Behavior
editThe behaviors of caracaras are considered quite strange in relation to those of other falcons.[7] The bird is often seen walking on the ground in search of prey, using its long legs to maneuver its landscapes.[8] In addition to a preference of walking over flying, the birds also create close bonds with their mates. Caracaras are territorial creatures who are year-round landlords of trees and land that they occupy. Their aggressiveness is an extension of this, which is why they have been seen taking food from much larger creatures like vultures.[9][10] In flight, this bird is known for having very direct flight. It does not soar for leisure.[11]
Taxonomy and fossil record
editThe crested caracara is the only extant species in Caracara, and was formerly separated into two species, the northern and southern crested caracaras. The modern range includes Cuba, South America, most of Central America and Mexico, just reaching the southernmost parts of the United States, including Florida.[12]
- †Guadalupe caracara (Caracara lutosa)[12] – extinct (1900)
Native to Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California, the Guadalupe caracara was hunted to extinction by 1906.
An additional six species have been described on the basis of fossil and subfossil records:
- †Caracara creightoni – Late Pleistocene (Cuba, The Bahamas)[13]
- †Caracara latebrosus – Late Pleistocene (Puerto Rico)[14]
- †Caracara major - Late Pleistocene (Uruguay)[15]
- †Caracara prelutosus – Late Pleistocene (Rancho La Brea, San Miguel Island, California)[16][17]
- †Caracara seymouri – Late Pleistocene (Peru, Ecuador)[18]
- †Caracara tellustris – Late Pleistocene (Jamaica)[19]
An unnamed Late Pleistocene species of Caracara from Argentina was the largest falcon ever, with a minimum weight estimate of around 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb).[17]
References
edit- ^ "South American Classification Committee". Museum.lsu.edu. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (December 2020). "IOC World Bird List (v 10.2) Proposed Splits/Lumps". Worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Caracara | bird". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Crested Caracara Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested Caracara | Bird Gallery | Houston Audubon". Houstonaudubon.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested Caracara: Not Your Everyday Falcon". Wildlatitudes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested Caracara | Bird Gallery | Houston Audubon". Houstonaudubon.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested Caracara - Introduction". Birds of North America Online. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway". Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Audubon's Crested Caracara Polyborus plancus audubonii" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Crested caracara". Raptor.umn.edu. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Caracara". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ Steadman, David W.; Franz, Richard; Morgan, Gary S.; Albury, Nancy A.; Kakuk, Brian; Broad, Kenneth; Franz, Shelley E.; Tinker, Keith; Pateman, Michael P.; Lott, Terry A.; Jarzen, David M.; Dilcher, David L. (2007). "Exceptionally well preserved late Quaternary plant and vertebrate fossils from a blue hole on Abaco, The Bahamas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (50): 19897–19902. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10419897S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0709572104. PMC 2148394. PMID 18077421.
- ^ Hume, Julian P.; Walters, Michael (19 March 2012). Extinct Birds. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408158623.
- ^ Jones, Washington; Rinderknecht, Andrés; Migotto, Rafael; Blanco, R. Ernesto (2013). "Body mass estimations and paleobiological inferences on a new species of large Caracara (Aves, Falconidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Uruguay". Journal of Paleontology. 87 (1): 151–158. Bibcode:2013JPal...87..151J. doi:10.1666/12-026R.1. JSTOR 23353814. S2CID 83648963.
- ^ Guthrie, Daniel A. (1992). "A Late Pleistocene avifauna from San Miguel Island, California" (PDF). Los Angeles County Natural History Museum Science Series. 36: 319–327.
- ^ a b Jones, Washington W.; Cenizo, Marcos M.; Agnolin, Federico L.; Rinderknecht, Andrés; Blanco, R. Ernesto (1 September 2015). "The largest known falconid". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 277 (3): 361–372. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2015/0514. ISSN 0077-7749.
- ^ Suárez, William; Olson, Storrs L. (1 September 2014). "A new fossil species of small crested caracara (Aves: Falconidae: Caracara) from the Pacific lowlands of western South America". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 127 (2): 299–310. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-127.2.299. S2CID 130085421.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (2008). "A new species of large, terrestrial Caracara from Holocene deposits in southern Jamaica (Aves: Falconidae)". Journal of Raptor Research. 42 (4). The Raptor Research Foundation: 265–272. doi:10.3356/JRR-08-18.1. S2CID 84510858.
Further reading
edit- Dove, C. & R. Banks. 1999. A Taxonomic study of Crested Caracaras (Falconidae). Wilson Bull. 111(3): 330–339.
External links
edit- Photo of crested caracara at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas : [1]