Bird species of the week.
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus)
Family:
Falconidae
Range:
When considering the distribution of Crested Caracara, you could probably see this kind of bird in northern South America and Central America. So, you can watch this bird in Mexico, Costa Rica, Texas, Florida, and Arizona which are the southernmost parts of the United States. But this bird is listed as the threatening one.
Size:
This large bird is 49-58 centimeters (19.3-22.8 inches) long. The wingspan of the bird is about 120 centimeters (47.2 inches) long
Weight:
The Crested Caracara weighs around 1050-1300 grams (37-45.9 Oz)
Diet:
Since this bird is omnivorous it mainly feeds on the carrion. It usually attacks young, immobile, inured, and incapacitated things to get live prey. They eat small mammals, fish, crabs, insects, and reptiles like small freshwater turtles, lizards, and snakes. They also eat the larvae of these insects, young birds, and fish. The group of Crested Caracara hunts for food through branches and cow dung. It also steals from other birds like pelicans, spoonbills, vultures, ibises, and buteos for food.
This bird normally flies and stays low to the ground even they are flying, so it is easy to steal food from other birds. The Crested Caracara also follows the automobiles and trains to fetch the food that falls to them.
Average lifespan:
The lifespan of Crested Caracara is normally 9 years in the wild and 15 years in captivity.
Habitat: The inhabitation of Crested Caracara would be in different types of open and semi-open countries. They normally live in the middle elevation and typically in the lowlands. This species is also found as common in scattered trees, small woods, and shelter belts.
You can also find this in other varieties of agricultural lands, coastal woodlands, open lands, coconut plantations, and also in the scrubs along beach sides. Because of this habitation, you can easily find this bird on the sides of Costa Rica beach and also in some park sides.
Breeding/Reproduction:
Normally you can see the Crested Caracaras as spotted alone or in pairs of 3 to 5. There are also a dozen caracaras living in the roosts and can see 75 caracaras together when they got with the abundant food sources. The nesting and breeding season of the Crested Caracara is December to May, which is earlier than other tropical birds. They usually build their nests on large trees like cacti, mesquites, and palms or also on the ground as a lost resort.
The nests are usually made from grasses, sticks, and hay and are spotted with animal materials at the most. Both sexes involve in bringing the matters to build the nest and also in the construction of the nest. The size of the nest is 60 to 100 centimeters (24-39 inches) wide and deep as 15 to 40 centimeters (5.9-16 inches).
The female Crested Caracara normally lays 2 to 3 eggs and rarely 1 to 4 eggs with darker blotches in the color pinkish-brown. The incubation period of eggs is 28 to 33 days and the incubation is shared by both the sexes. The young birds of caracaras would leave the nest after 7 to 8 weeks of hatching. Both parents feed the birds for 2 months and they remain with their parents for 10 months. Normally the Crested Caracara pairs would go for only one brood per year.
Crested Caracara normally has broad wings as white in color and long tails are white in color with broad terminal band and black barring. With the help of the long yellow legs, it can easily run and walk on the ground. The flight of this bird is normally a cross-shaped one. The body, wings, crown, and crest are presented in the adults and the color of them is usually black. The breast, rump, and neck are in white color and the breast is finely barred with black color. It has a grey color bill a thick and hooked one. Depending on the age and mood of the bird the color of facial skin and cere varies from yellow to orange-red.
Both the sexes of Crested Caracara are similar in shape and color, but there are some differences with the immature birds. They are normally the color brown, have buff throats and necks, breasts pale with brown-streaked, and legs greyish color. The facial skin and cere are normally greyish or sometimes it may be dull pinkish-purple.
Compare to the Southern Caracara, this is the second large size bird. It also differs from that by being less extensive and barring the chest with spottier. The scapulars and lower back of crested caracara are uniformly black. This will be in the color pale with dark barring in the Southern Caracaras. If you consider the voice of this species, it would be normally a low-rattle one.
Because of the efficient and reliable living of these birds on the beach sides and in dry forests, you can find them in the fields of Costa Rica. There are many parks available in Costa Rica to allow people to enjoy these birds. Since the appearance of the Crested Caracara is attractive, most people prefer to visit Florida, Texas, Mexico, and Costa Rica to watch this bird. But it is necessary to be aware of the attack of this bird.
There are numerous people who enjoy the visit to Costa Rica with their family members and friends. Other than this species there are also many species available to offer you the memorable moment of your life. They can be seen in national parks of Costa Rica such as Manuel Antonio National Park, In the northwest of Costa Rica, Guanacaste National Park connects Cacao and Orosi volcanoes to the Santa Rosa National Park Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge Corcovado National Park but lately these birds pretty common anywhere you go in Costa Rica mostly on the street in the countryside.