Crested Caracara: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, North America and South America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Caracara plancus
- Family
- Falcons and Caracaras
- Size
- About 58 cm
- Habitat
- Open country, grassland and scrub
- Found in
- Europe, North America and South America
The key marks
Large, long-legged raptor with a black cap, a pale neck and cheeks, a barred chest and a bare orange-red face; white wing patches show in flight. Chimango Caracara is smaller and evenly buff-brown, with no black cap.
Voice
Fairly quiet, with a dry, rattling or cackling call.
Good to know
It spends much time walking on the ground, where it scavenges carrion and also hunts small prey on foot.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Chimango 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 country, grassland and scrub. It is especially common in Argentina and Brazil. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.