Caracara

This article is about the Caracara birds. For the song by South African rapper K.O, see Caracara (song).

Caracara
Mountain caracara Phalcoboenus megalopterus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes
Family:	Falconidae
Subfamily:	Polyborinae, Caracarinae, or Falconinae
Genera
Daptrius Ibycter Phalcoboenus Caracara Milvago

Crested caracara Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

Crested caracara in flight

Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons, but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily Caracarinae, or as members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae. Caracaras are principally birds of South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States.

Unlike the Falco falcons in the same family, the birds in the five relevant genera are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often scavengers (a notable exception being the red-throated caracara).

Species

• Genus Daptrius
  • D. ater Vieillot, 1816 - black caracara

• Genus Ibycter
  • I. americanus Boddaert, 1783 - red-throated caracara (formerly in Daptrius)

• Genus Phalcoboenus
  • P. carunculatus Des Murs, 1853 - carunculated caracara
  • P. megalopterus Meyen, 1834 - mountain caracara
  • P. albogularis Gould, 1837 - white-throated caracara
  • P. australis Gmelin, 1788 - striated caracara

• Genus Caracara Merrem, 1826
  • C. cheriway Jacquin, 1784 - northern crested caracara
  • C. plancus Miller, 1777 - southern crested caracara
  • C. lutosa Ridgway, 1876 - Guadalupe caracara (extinct, 1903)

• Genus Milvago
  • M. chimachima Vieillot, 1816 - yellow-headed caracara
  • M. chimango Vieillot, 1816 - Chimango caracara

Distribution

The caracaras are found throughout much of the Americas. The range of the northern caracara extends as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States. In the Southern Hemisphere, the striated caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip of South America.

Taxonomy

The genus Caracara Merrem 1826 was previously known as Polyborus Vieillot 1816. Hence, the differing subfamily names Polyborinae or Caracarinae. In addition, different authors give differing scopes to the subfamily, sometimes including the forest falcons, laughing falcon, or spot-winged falconet.

Peters' checklist in 1931 listed the caracaras in their own subfamily, Polyborinae, containing Daptrius, Milvago, Phalcobœnus, and Polyborus. Ibycter americanus is included as Daptrius americanus.

Whilst recognizing "three major, deep divisions in the Falconidae", the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union voted in 2007 to recognize two subfamilies: Herpetotherinae containing the forest falcons; and Falconinae containing the caracaras and true falcons.

Based on recent research in molecular genetics, John Boyd places the spot-winged falconet (Spiziapteryx) in Caracarinae, and the forest falcons in Herpetotherinae. He also comments that "many of the caracaras are closely related, and it would not be unreasonable to merge Ibycter, Milvago, and Phalcoboenus into Daptrius".

External links

• Caracara videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Information on Florida caracaraes:Phalcoboenus