Yellow-headed caracara
| Yellow-headed caracara | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| An adult yellow-headed caracara at Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Subfamily: | Polyborinae |
| Genus: | Milvago |
| Species: | M. chimachima |
| Binomial name | |
|
Milvago chimachima Vieillot, 1816 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Polyborus chimachima (Vieillot, 1816) |
|
Polyborus chimachima (Vieillot, 1816)
Falco readei (Brodkorb, 1959)
Milvago readei (Brodkorb, 1959)
The yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America. Unlike the falcons in the same family, the caracara is not a fast-flying aerial hunter, but is rather sluggish and often obtains food by scavenging.
When Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot first described the yellow-headed caracara in 1816, he gave it the scientific name Polyborus chimachima, putting it in the same genus as the rest of the caracaras. In 1824, German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix created the genus Milvago for this species and the closely related chimango caracara.
The yellow-headed caracara is 41–46 cm (16–18 in) in length and weighs 325 g (11.5 oz) on average. Like many other birds of prey, the female is larger than the male, weighing 310–360 g (11–13 oz) against the male's 280–330 g (9.9–11.6 oz). Apart from the difference in size, there is no significant sexual dimorphism in this species. It is broad-winged and long-tailed, somewhat resembling a small Buteo. The adult has a buff head, with a black streak behind the eye, and buff underparts. The upper plumage is brown with distinctive pale patches on the flight feathers of the wings, and the tail is barred cream and brown. The head and underparts of immature birds have dense brown mottling.
...
Wikipedia