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belong to the falcon family
or
Falconidae and are only present on the American continent,
ranging from Southern USA to Tierra del Fuego. There
exist only eight species of caracaras
worldwide with
six species
to be admired in Ecuador. In the country they range from the Amazon
(Black, Red-Throated and Yellow-Headed)
and
coastal lowlands (Northern-Crested)
right up
to the high Andes mountains (Mountain
and
Carunculated) and are
conspicuous in various regions. In Mexico the Caracara represents
the country's national
emblem. |
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As with many
species of the Falconiformes juvenile birds are very
different in appearance to the adults, demonstrated here in the case of the
Carunculated Caracara (photo of immature to the left was
taken at Cotopaxi at 4600m and of the adult to the right at
Baños zoo). The bird goes through various plumage molts till it finally
reaches its adult plumage. |
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Caracaras
are larger birds with some species
(Carunculated and Northern Crested) standing up to 58cm with a
wingspan of 1m 25cm. Although they
are falcons, they do not resemble true or forest falcons and are easily distinguished from them, having
longer legs and necks and more rounded wings. Their
most distinct behavioural difference is that they feed mostly
on carrion and thus developed similarities
to other scavenging birds, like feet adapted to walking on ground
and a bare face (convergent evolution). Caracaras
however also
feed on insects and snails, scouring the ground, where
they are often seen in larger groups, flying off a little bit and
then settling again. |
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In the Amazon
rainforest three kinds of caracaras can be found. The Black
Caracara (shown in the photo which was taken in the Yasuni
National Park) is the most conspicuous found
along rivers and open areas and often ranges in small groups. The
Yellow-headed Caracara is also found along larger rivers
but only in the northeast part of the Amazon. The Red-Throated
Caracaras are the largest of the three Amazon species and
easily recognized by a bare red throat and white belly and are
often very noisy in groups. They feed almost exclusively on eggs
and larvae of wasps and
bees tearing apart their nests. They do not get stung by the
fierce
insects but it is known that oropendulas, weaver birds, which
build their hanging nests close to wasp nests for enhanced
protection, attack them repaying some of the help they obtain
from the insects. |
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On a carcass site Caracaras
are known to be dominant and aggressive. They may push
aside other scavengers and are even known to force food out of
another bird's gullet. That behavior and
their relative fearlessness of humans enters them into the
folklore of the common rural people. It is claimed that the
male offspring of
a male caracara with the
female common house hen are the fiercest fighters in a
cock fight and almost invincible. |
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The
Carunculated Caracara (photos were
taken in the Cotopaxi National Park) is widely found in the high
paramo regions, right up to the glaciers of 5000m where they
search the ground for any food morsel and can often be observed
closer up. They also can be watched in the air sailing and
gliding gracefully in strong and windy
conditions. |
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Caracaras
build their own nests unlike true falcons.
The parents lay 1 to 2 eggs and incubate the egg for 36 days
taking turns. After the young is hatched, it stays with its parents for
2 months being fed until it learns to find its own food.
The status of the Curiquingue, another local name for caracara, is
fairly secure in Ecuador with only the Amazonian species being
susceptible to changes to its habitat
by deforestation. |
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The Mountain Caracara can be found
in the higher mountains of the southern part of Ecuador but are more common in
neighboring Peru, where those photos were taken in the region of
Colonche at around 3500m. |
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ECUADORIAN SPECIES : |
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Name |
Scientific |
Location |
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Black Caracara |
Daptrius ater |
Amazon (clearings) below 1500m |
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Red-Throated Caracara |
Ibycter
americanus |
Amazon below 1000m |
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Yellow-Headed Caracara |
Milvago
chimachima |
Amazon (forest) below 1000m |
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Carunculated Caracara |
Phalcoboenus carunculatus |
Andes (paramo) above 3000m |
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Mountain Caracara |
Phalcoboenus
megalopterus |
Southern Andes (paramo) at 3000m |
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Northern Crested-Caracara |
Caracara cheriway |
SW Coast & Andes below 3000m |
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Birding Vocabulary |
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Convergent
Evolution:
development of similar
features in unrelated species
due to similar lifestyles or environment. e.g.:
bare parts of the face of caracaras and vultures due to eating
carrion. |
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