Southern crested caracara (Caracara plancus) in flight

Caracaras are birds of prey in the family

Falconidae The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order Falconiformes). The family is divided into three subfamilies, Herpetotherinae, which inclu ...

. They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons, but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily, Caracarinae, or classified as members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae. Caracaras are principally birds of

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

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

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

s (a notable exception being the red-throated caracara).

Species

Distribution

The caracaras are found throughout much of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. The range of the crested 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''".

References

External links

Caracara videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
Information on Florida caracara
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4583899 * Polyborinae