When one thinks of a falcon, the image that comes to mind is probably of a compact, sleek-winged, speedy bird of prey that hunts in the sky. That describes the Peregrine Falcon, which is the fastest animal on Earth. There are about 60 falcon species around the world, and most are fast, aerial hunters. However, the Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) is not your typical falcon. Though the Caracara has the hooked raptorial bill and some other similarities to its cousins, other anatomical and behavioral features set this bird far apart. The distinctive Crested Caracara “combines the raptorial instincts of the eagle with the base carrion-feeding habits of the vulture” (1). Called ignoble, miserable, and aggressive, yet also dashing, stately, and noble, this medium-sized raptor, with its bold black-and-white plumage and bright yellow-orange face and legs, is easily recognizable as it perches conspicuously on a high point in the landscape. In flight, it can be distinguished by its regular, powerful wing beats as it cruises low across the ground or just above the treetops.
Identifying the Crested Caracara
To identify a Crested Caracara, look for these key features:
- Overall Size and Shape: A hawk-sized raptor with a flat head and heavy bill. Straight wings in flight give the bird an overall ‘cross’ shape.
- Plumage Color and Pattern: The black-and-white markings are bold compared to most falcons. Bright orange legs and yellow or orange skin on the face, with a bluish-gray bill tip. Outer flight feathers are white in flight, as are the feathers under the tail.
- Behavior: It walks on the ground or flies low, with flat wings. Often seen perched on cacti or treetops and among vultures around animal carcasses.
Distribution and Habitat
The Crested Caracara is common in open lands throughout much of Mexico, all of Central America, and the northern half of South America. It is at its northern range limits in the United States. Here, it’s found in the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Habitat modeling by biologists suggests that the Caracara may expand its range northward over the next century as the average temperature rises with climate change.
Preferred habitats for the species are open landscapes, including desert scrub, prairies, woodlands, agricultural areas, and cattle ranches. Audubon's crested caracara inhabits wet prairies with cabbage palms. It may also be found in wooded areas with saw palmetto, cypress, scrub oaks, and pastures. They tend to avoid areas with thick ground cover as it prevents them from getting a running start to take flight.
Dietary Habits
The Caracara’s diet explains why this bird looks and acts so differently from typical falcons. Most falcons are fast-flyers that catch live, fast-moving prey, such as other birds. The Crested Caracara is more of a generalist in its diet, eating live prey and scavenging for carrion. The latter is the bird’s main food source, and since it certainly doesn’t need to be fast to pounce on animals that are already dead, the Caracara evolved into a relatively slow-flying, sluggish sort of falcon. The Crested Caracara is an opportunistic feeder, which means it will eat whatever is available. They are known for their diverse diet, which primarily consists of carrion (dead animals). However, they are also known to hunt live prey such as small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. In addition, they have been known to consume insects, fish, and even some plant material like fruit.
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Like vultures, the Caracara has some featherless skin on its face. This is an adaptation to eating dead animals. Facial feathers would get fouled up by blood and fleshy bits during meals, so it’s helpful for scavengers to have few if any of them. The distinctive Crested Caracara “combines the raptorial instincts of the eagle with the base carrion-feeding habits of the vulture”.
When caracaras can reach a carcass first, they will often try to defend this resource from any vultures that arrive later. They will also steal food from vultures and other birds given the chance. Caracaras often patrol highways, looking for an easy meal of roadkill. Flies along highways early in morning, searching for road kills. May steal food from other birds.
When Crested Caracaras eat live prey, they hunt small animals such as reptiles, insects, worms, crabs, and similar creatures. Baby birds are also a favorite snack.
Caracaras tend to either fly low or walk on the ground while foraging. In fact, they spend a lot of time walking around, which is rare among raptors. This is why they have such long legs for a falcon and claws that are relatively flat. An opportunist, hunting and scavenging in a variety of ways. Often hunts by flying low, taking small animals by surprise. May scratch on the ground for insects, or dig up turtle eggs.
They watch for vultures and often join them to feed on carrion. Because Crested Caracaras cannot open large carcasses on their own they must wait for a vulture or larger animal to open it up.
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Hunting Techniques and Diet Composition
The Northern Crested Caracara is one of the few other raptors that hunts on foot. This species walks on the ground, often along roads, searching for food. The caracara is not a picky eater and has an extensive menu, which pretty much includes anything it can catch. In addition to their hunting skills, caracaras are big carrion feeders. Because they fly much lower to the ground than vultures, they often are the first on the scene of a feeding frenzy.
Like many birds of prey, where they live and time of year help determine what they eat. For example, in Florida, scientists have found that breeding caracaras feed larger vertebrate prey to their nestlings. But caracaras don't stop at feeding on carrion and hunting on foot. They have developed a few other interesting hunting techniques. Like Aplomado Falcons, Crested Caracaras often pirate food from other species. If a caracara spots another bird carrying food, the caracaras will fly after, dive bomb and otherwise harass the other bird until it drops its prey. As another means of finding food, this species also will show up at grass fires and fields that are being plowed to prey on animals, such as lizards, rodents and insects, that normally find good hiding places in grass or thick shrubs.
Feeds on a wide variety of smaller creatures, either captured alive or found dead. Diet includes rabbits, ground squirrels, skunks, various birds (plus their eggs and young), frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, young alligators, fish, large insects. Crested Caracaras are resourceful foragers and eat just about anything they can find. They wade in shallow waters to grab fish, dig up turtle eggs with their feet, and turn over debris with feet to uncover insects. Crested Caracaras also take advantage of disturbance such as fires or farming operations, grabbing fleeing animals or picking up those that have died.
Nesting Behavior
The Crested Caracara differs from most other birds in the falcon family. Take its nesting habits, for example. Most other falcons do not build their own nests, laying their eggs instead in abandoned nests built by other birds, on cliff ledges or in crevices in cliffs or trees, and sometimes even on the ground. The Northern Crested Caracara, on the other hand, does indeed build its own nest. It is made of sticks, grass and other plant material and tends to be a large and bulky cup-shaped structure. Nest sites vary, usually 8-50' above ground in top of shrub or tree, such as live oak, cabbage palm, acacia; in Arizona, sometimes in giant cactus. Nest is a bulky structure of sticks, weeds, debris, sometimes built on top of old nest of other species. Nest may be reused annually, with more material added each year.
Crested Caracaras generally build a nest in the tallest tree, cactus, shrub, or other structure around. Males and females collect stems, twigs, and vines that they weave into a bulky nest with a shallow bowl. It takes the pair around 2 to 4 weeks to build a nest. Nests are approximately 2 feet across, but they frequently reuse and refurbish old nests, so they are often larger.
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After the nest is built, the female lays 2-3 whitish brown eggs. Both parents participate in incubation duties for about one month. When the chicks hatch, they are covered in off-white down on most of their bodies, except for their distinctive black patch. After about 3 months of being cared for by their parents, the young fledge, or fly for the first time. The caracara family usually stays together another 3 months while the young learn to hunt, avoid predators and otherwise survive on their own.
In courtship, two birds may toss heads back repeatedly while giving guttural call. Members of a pair may preen each other's feathers.
Reproduction and Development
Little is known about the reproduction of the caracara. Eggs from caracaras in Florida have been found from September to April, with the breeding season seeming to peak from January to March. Nests are constructed with sticks, dry weed stalks and long and narrow segments of vine.
- Clutch Size: 1-4 eggs
- Number of Broods: 1-2 broods
- Egg Length: 2.1-2.7 in (5.3-6.8 cm)
- Egg Width: 1.4-2.4 in (3.5-6 cm)
- Incubation Period: 30-33 days
- Nestling Period: 42-56 days
- Egg Description: Cinnamon-colored with heavy brown spotting.
- Condition at Hatching: Helpless and covered in down.
After the nest is built, the female lays 2-3 whitish brown eggs. Both parents participate in incubation duties for about one month. When the chicks hatch, they are covered in off-white down on most of their bodies, except for their distinctive black patch. After about 3 months of being cared for by their parents, the young fledge, or fly for the first time. The caracara family usually stays together another 3 months while the young learn to hunt, avoid predators and otherwise survive on their own.
2-3, rarely 4. Pale brown, blotched with darker brown. Incubation is reportedly by both sexes (although female may do more), about 30 days. Both parents bring food to young in nest. Age of young at first flight varies, probably usually 6-8 weeks. Young may remain with parents for several weeks after fledging.
Social Behavior and Territoriality
Crested Caracaras regularly walk or run on the ground. To get airborne they take a few running steps, lifting gently into the air. Once in flight, they fly with strong and slow wingbeats with their wings held flat, scanning for prey below. They keep territories year-round and are not social with other birds other than their mate during the breeding season. Breeding birds tend to be more aggressive toward other Crested Caracaras and vultures at carcass sites, but seem more tolerant outside the breeding season and even roost communally at times. Pairs form year-round bonds with each other and stay together for several years. Pairs and family groups frequently preen each other, a behavior known as allopreening. Pairs maintain strict territorial boundaries, quickly chasing away intruders from the nest site during the breeding season.
Conservation Status and Threats
Currently, the Crested Caracara is listed as “Least Concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. While they face some threats, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, their population is relatively stable across their range. In the United States, they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Based on the best available data, the North American Breeding Bird Survey suggests that their populations increased nearly 6% per year between 1966 and 2019. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 2.2 million and rates them 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern.
The main threat to the Audubon’s crested caracara is habitat loss. The main cause of habitat loss includes modification for urban development and agriculture. Due to its isolation and specific habitat dependence, an environmental catastrophe could cause a significant decline in the caracara’s population. A disproportionate sex ratio could occur in an environmental catastrophe causing lower reproductive rates. Traffic mortality will continue to be a threat to the species as the population of Florida continues to increase and more roads are constructed. Illegal take from trapping is also a threat to crested caracaras.
Rapid urban and agricultural development in Florida has resulted in loss of nesting habitat, and in 1987 this population was classified as Threatened by both the federal government and the state of Florida. In parts of Texas and South America, expansion of the poultry industry, land-clearing, and habitat conversion to ranching and agriculture may be benefiting the species.
The National Bird of Mexico: A Misconception?
A claim to fame for the Crested Caracara is its iconic status in Mexico. Some archaeologists tell us that Aztecs and other pre-Hispanic peoples revered the Caracara. For a time, some scholars thought the ‘eagle’ depicted on Mexico’s flag was actually supposed to be a Caracara. The Crested Caracara was therefore esteemed as the National Bird of Mexico. But further study suggested that the bird on Mexico’s flag is actually a Golden Eagle. The Golden Eagle then supplanted the Caracara as the National Bird of Mexico. However, you’ll still see the Caracara referred to as the national bird by some sources.