Caracara

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Falconiformes

Familia: Falconidae
Subfamilia: Caracarinae
Genus: Caracara
Species: †C. lutosa – C. plancus

Name

Caracara Merrem, 1826

Typus: Falco plancus J.F. Miller, 1777 = Caracara plancus

Synonymy

Polyborus Vieillot, 1816 AnalyseOrn. p. 22 BHL

References
Primary references

Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Kunste 15: 159.

Additional references

Fuchs, J., Johnson, J.A. & Mindell, D.P. 2012. Molecular systematics of the caracaras and allies (Falconidae: Polyborinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. Ibis 154(3): 520-532. DOI: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2012.01222.x Reference page.

Caracara is a genus in the family Falconidae and the subfamily Polyborinae. It contains one extant species, the crested caracara; and one extinct species, the Guadalupe caracara. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has voted to again merge the two, retaining C. plancus as crested caracara.[1] The taxonomists of the International Ornithologists' Union have also merged them.[2]

Appearance

The crested caracara is distinguished by its long legs and medium size.[3] The birds can reach a length of 49–58 cm (19–23 in) from head to tail.[4] There are usually four points of identification of the caracara: strikingly white markings on the neck, the tip of both wings, and the tail.[5] Along with their medium length, the caracara also has a wingspan of 122–129 cm (48–51 in).[6] When flying, the caracara is often noted to have a pattern on their underside that looks like a cross.[7]
Behavior

The behaviors of caracaras are considered quite strange in relation to those of other falcons.[8] The bird is often seen walking on the ground in search of prey, using its long legs to maneuver its landscapes.[9] In addition to a preference of walking over flying, the birds also create close bonds with their mates. Caracaras are territorial creatures who are year-round landlords of trees and land that they occupy. Their aggressiveness is an extension of this, which is why they have been seen taking food from much larger creatures like vultures.[10][11] In flight, this bird is known for having very direct flight. It does not soar for leisure.[12]
Taxonomy and fossil record
Caracara plancus

The crested caracara is the only extant species in Caracara, and was formerly separated into two species, the northern and southern crested caracaras. The modern range includes Cuba, South America, most of Central America and Mexico, just reaching the southernmost parts of the United States, including Florida.[13]

†Guadalupe caracara (Caracara lutosa)[13] – extinct (1900)

Native to Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California, the Guadalupe caracara was hunted to extinction by 1906.

An additional six species have been described on the basis of fossil and subfossil records:

†Caracara creightoni – Late Pleistocene (Cuba, The Bahamas)[14]
†Caracara latebrosus – Late Pleistocene (Puerto Rico)[15]
†Caracara major - Late Pleistocene (Uruguay)[16]
†Caracara prelutosus - Late Pleistocene (Rancho La Brea, San Miguel Island California)[17][18]
†Caracara seymouri - Late Pleistocene (Peru, Ecuador)[19]
†Caracara tellustris – Late Pleistocene (Jamaica)[20]

References

"South American Classification Committee". Museum.lsu.edu. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (December 2020). "IOC World Bird List (v 10.2) Proposed Splits/Lumps". Worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
"Caracara | bird". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara | Bird Gallery | Houston Audubon". Houstonaudubon.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara: Not Your Everyday Falcon". Wildlatitudes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara | Bird Gallery | Houston Audubon". Houstonaudubon.org. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested Caracara - Introduction". Birds of North America Online. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Crested caracara". Raptor.umn.edu. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
"Caracara". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
Steadman, David W.; Franz, Richard; Morgan, Gary S.; Albury, Nancy A.; Kakuk, Brian; Broad, Kenneth; Franz, Shelley E.; Tinker, Keith; Pateman, Michael P.; Lott, Terry A.; Jarzen, David M.; Dilcher, David L. (2007). "Exceptionally well preserved late Quaternary plant and vertebrate fossils from a blue hole on Abaco, The Bahamas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (50): 19897–19902. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10419897S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0709572104. PMC 2148394. PMID 18077421.
Hume, Julian P.; Walters, Michael (19 March 2012). Extinct Birds. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408158623.
Jones, Washington; Rinderknecht, Andrés; Migotto, Rafael; Blanco, R. Ernesto (2013). "Body Mass Estimations and Paleobiological Inferences on a New Species of Large Caracara (Aves, Falconidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Uruguay". Journal of Paleontology. 87 (1): 151–158. doi:10.1666/12-026R.1. JSTOR 23353814. S2CID 83648963.
Guthrie, Daniel A. (1992). "A Late Pleistocene Avifauna from San Miguel Island, California" (PDF). Los Angeles County Natural History Museum Science Series. 36: 319–327.
Jones, W. W.; Cenizo, M. M.; Agnolin, F. L.; Rinderknecht, A.; Blanco, R. E. (2015). "The largest known falconid". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 277 (3): 361–372. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2015/0514.
Suárez, William; Olson, Storrs L. (1 September 2014). "A new fossil species of small crested caracara (Aves: Falconidae: Caracara) from the Pacific lowlands of western South America". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 127 (2): 299–310. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-127.2.299. ISSN 0006-324X. S2CID 130085421.

Olson, Storrs L. (2008). "A New Species of Large, Terrestrial Caracara from Holocene Deposits in Southern Jamaica (Aves: Falconidae)". Journal of Raptor Research. The Raptor Research Foundation. 42 (4): 265–272. doi:10.3356/JRR-08-18.1. S2CID 84510858.