Chimango Caracara: how to recognise it
A bird of South America and Oceania. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © graciela_gplp · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Daptrius chimango
- Family
- Falcons and Caracaras
- Size
- About 38 cm
- Habitat
- Open fields, towns and grassland
- Found in
- South America and Oceania
The key marks
Small, slim, buff-brown caracara with a streaked body, a pale rump, a barred tail and pale patches in the wings, but no black cap. Crested Caracara is larger, with a black cap, a pale neck and a barred chest.
Voice
A drawn-out, shrill, screaming call.
Good to know
It often walks about fields, following ploughs and tractors for worms and insects, and it also scavenges.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Crested Caracara. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open fields, towns and grassland. It is especially common in Chile and Argentina. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.