During a recent walk at Berry Springs Park & Preserve in Georgetown, Texas, one of my friends pointed out this Crested Caracara in a distant field. That was a lifer for me. I had heard about this bird of prey but had never encountered one. It was wonderful to watch it move around the field, looking for something to eat.
There is a small irony in that story. Spotting one was a first for me here in the United States, yet back home in Brazil, the carcará is anything but a stranger. It is the bird João do Vale wrote about in “Carcará,” the song Maria Bethânia made famous in 1965 — “Carcará, pega, mata e come” (Caracara, catches, kills, and eats). So in a way, this Texas prairie reintroduced me to an old acquaintance from home.
A Quick Introduction to the Crested Caracara
The Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) is a striking raptor that doesn’t quite behave like the company it keeps. Although it belongs to the falcon family (Falconidae), it looks a little like a hawk, spends much of its time walking on the ground like a vulture, and is — by average body mass — the second-largest falcon in the world, after the gyrfalcon. Adults measure roughly 19 to 23 inches (49–58 cm) long, with a wingspan of about 4 feet (1.2 m) and a weight between 2 pounds 5 ounces and 2 pounds 14 ounces (1.1–1.3 kg).
Up close, it’s unmistakable: a black cap and shaggy crest, a pale buff-white face and throat, a finely barred breast, dark wings and belly, and bright yellow-orange legs. The bare skin of its face ranges from deep yellow to reddish-orange and can actually shift color with the bird’s mood. It is sometimes called the “Mexican eagle,” a nod to the long-running idea that the sacred bird in certain pre-Columbian Aztec imagery may have been a caracara rather than a golden eagle — though it is not a true eagle at all.
What’s on the Menu?
The Crested Caracara is the ultimate opportunist. Carrion — the carcasses of dead animals — makes up the bulk of its diet, and it is bold enough to bully Black and Turkey Vultures off a carcass and take over the meal. When the chance arises, it also hunts live prey: insects, small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crabs, and worms, and it readily raids nests for eggs and young. It will pirate food from other birds, harrying vultures, hawks, pelicans, and ibises until they drop or regurgitate their catch, and it often patrols behind wildfires, farm equipment, and roadsides to grab whatever gets flushed out. A little fruit rounds things out now and then. That field at Berry Springs, with a bird working it on foot, was a perfect picture of how the caracara makes its living.
Where to Find It
In the United States, the Crested Caracara is mostly a bird of the southern edges. Its strongholds here are South Texas and central Florida, with smaller numbers in Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, and occasionally southern California. The Florida birds are a protected, state-listed “relict” population, left over from a warmer, savanna-covered past. In Texas, the species has been steadily expanding northward — which is exactly why a sighting in Georgetown, in Central Texas, is worth noting.
Beyond the U.S., this is fundamentally a bird of the Americas south of the border. It is found in every state of Mexico, throughout Central America, and across most of South America, all the way down to Tierra del Fuego at the continent’s southern tip, as well as on several Caribbean islands and the Falklands. It tends to avoid only the high Andes and the dense, humid core of the Amazon. In short: a true lifer for me in Texas, but a familiar face across most of Latin America — Brazil very much included.
A Few Things That Make It Unusual
A handful of quirks make the caracara hard to forget: it is a falcon that hunts mostly on foot rather than from the air; its facial skin flushes from yellow to red depending on its mood; it routinely outmuscles vultures at a carcass; and there are even documented cases of Black Vultures gently preening a caracara after it lowers its head as if to invite it. For a bird of prey, it has a surprisingly social, scruffy charm.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Berry Springs Park and Preserve, Bird of the Week, Crested Caracara, Georgetown, Parks, Texas, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
Posted for I.J. Khanewala’s Birds of the Week Invitation CLXIX.
Sources:
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds — Crested Caracara (Overview & ID) — https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Crested_Caracara/overview
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of the World — Caracara plancus — https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/y00678/cur/introduction
- National Audubon Society — Audubon Field Guide, Crested Caracara — https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/crested-caracara
- The Peregrine Fund — Crested Caracara — https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/falcons/crested-caracara
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — Audubon’s Crested Caracara — https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/raptors-and-vultures/audubons-crested-caracara/
- Animal Diversity Web — Caracara cheriway (Crested Caracara) — https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Caracara_cheriway/
- Wikipedia — “Crested caracara” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_caracara
- Nova Brasil FM — “Carcará” (João do Vale / Maria Bethânia), song background — https://novabrasilfm.com.br/notas-musicais/maria-bethania-a-historia-da-cancao-carcara
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Pamela Zmija Photography
Wow beautiful bird!
Egidio Leitao
I had never seen one until that day. Thanks.
Bob Ramsak
Fabulous bird – so glad the two of you crossed paths in Texas! I saw a few in Patagonia some years ago.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Bob. I’d heard about it here from several people, but had never seen one. Thanks for writing.
Lindy Le Coq
New bird to me! Won’t find it up here in the PNW, to be sure. Thanks for another bird find.
Egidio Leitao
So glad it’s a new bird for you, Lindy. Thanks for writing.
mickmccann24175
I saw one while in the Falklands, but it was not the Crested type. This one has much more striking features. Nice shots!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Mick. I appreciate the compliment.
shoestringdiary
Excellent capture of a beautiful bird of prey.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback.
Terri Webster Schrandt
This is an interesting bird, one I’d never heard of either, Egidio. Great shots and thanks for the NatGeo intel!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for writing, Terri.
Toonsarah
That’s a rather striking bird, and the info about him was interesting – thank you 🙂 I especially love your ‘Eye to Eye’ shot!
Egidio Leitao
That seems to be everyone’s favorite. I think he had spotted me there. Thanks for the feedback.
Anita
Beautiful photos, Egidio, I especially like the first two. Such a striking bird, and I loved reading the story behind your encounter.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Anita. That’s a great bird.
Steve Schwartzman
A happy find for you, and you caught a good eye-to-eye stance in this bird. The first word in your title made me wonder if carcará is the Portuguese version of caracara, and sure enough, that turned out to be the case.
Egidio Leitao
I think he found me in the Eye to Eye shot. Glad you liked these. Thanks.
Tra Italia e Finlandia
È simpaticissimo!
Egidio Leitao
Grazie.
margaret21
An imposing and interesting bird with a pretty understated lifestyle. I couldn’t help wondering if its call gives it is name. It sounds as if it could, though it’s a pretty underwhelming sound for such a handsome bird.
Egidio Leitao
I listened to the various samples in All About Birds, but none sounds like its name. Thanks for writing.
margaret21
I probably just WANTED it to sound like its name!
restlessjo
Love the eye to eye shot, Egidio. Thanks for the information xx
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Jo. Yes, that shot was as if it had spotted me.
I. J. Khanewala
Unusual life style for a falcon certainly. Thanks for the intro to this bird
Egidio Leitao
You’re welcome, I.J. Glad I could show a common bird in our area.
Rupali
A beautiful bird.
Egidio Leitao
They really are. Thanks for the feedback.
philosophy through photography
Crested Caracara looks bold enough to steal food and not care who is watching 😄 Superb shots and an interesting story behind them.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Philo. Glad you liked the photos.
nesfelicio
Wow! Great capture of this unusual and beautiful bird. Congratulations on the lifer.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Nes.
Vicki
What an interesting bird of prey. With that orange throat and tinge on the wing tips, you couldn’t mistake it.
Egidio Leitao
They really are interesting. Thanks for writing.
Writing to Freedom
Thanks for the introduction and education Egidio. This is a new falcon for me with very distinctive face, colors, and feeding habits. I think of falcons as masters at diving to hunt.
Egidio Leitao
You’re welcome, Brad. They are common here.