SOUTHERN CARACARA

Common name : Southern Caracara 

Scientific name :Caracara plancus

Order : Falconiformes

Length : Between 21 and 23 inches

DESCRIPTION

Raptor with a wingspan of 47 inches and a weight ranging between 0.8 and 1.6 kg. Presents the upper part of the head blackish; the rest of it and the neck, grayish white, while the back and chest have broad brown and grayish white lines. In flight you can see a light wing patch and a whitish tail that ends with a black band. The skin of the face is bare, a typical feature of scavenger birds. It has a large yellowish beak with a bluish base and orange cere.

ENVIRONMENT AND NOURISHMENT

It has a wide distribution in several South American countries. Due to its plasticity, it is a bird adapted to different environments and can be found in environments such as: open fields, thickets and forests, also in urban and peri-urban environments. It is an opportunistic, carnivorous-scavenger bird, so it can often be seen eating animals that have been run over on the road. It also feeds on mice and chicks of other birds. It is usually persecuted in rural areas, as it attacks chickens. It can also attack young or injured calves and lambs, attacking the eyes, lips, and anal area; so that the prey is defenceless, progressively until it dies and then is devoured. Its hunting strategy differs from that of other birds of prey, since it does not jump on its victims; It prefers to go down to land, placing itself at a distance from its prey, chasing it until it reaches it.

PROCREATION

It nests between November and December, forming a large nest with branches and other items available in the area. She lays 2 eggs of approximately 24 x 19 inches. Incubation lasts between 28 to 32 days, and their chicks manage to fly independently at 3 months.

THREATS TO SURVIVAL

As it is a scavenger bird, it can be poisoned by chemicals in animals controlled as pests that it feeds on. Another threat is bird hunting.

CONSERVATION

According to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species is in category: LC (lower risk). In Chile it does not have a conservation category.