Birds of prey · Argentina
Crested Caracara
Kuifcaracara · Caracara plancus
A falcon that spends its time on foot
The Crested Caracara is a large, long-legged member of the falcon family. It has a black cap, a pale neck and chest, bare orange-red skin on the face and a heavy, pale bill. The wings are dark and the pale tail is finely barred.
Most falcons hunt in the air. Caracaras spend a lot of their time on the ground, walking across grassland, open country and roadsides. They eat carrion as well as insects, small mammals, reptiles and eggs, and at a carcass they are not easily pushed aside by vultures.
The southern form, Caracara plancus, is found across much of South America, south to Tierra del Fuego.
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