Crested Caracara
Crested Caracara, Polyborus plancus.
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes Family: Falconidae Genus: Polyborus (Vieillot, 1816) Species: P. plancus
Binomial name
Polyborus plancus (Miller, JF, 1777)
Synonyms
Caracara cheriway Image File history File links Polyborus_plancus. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Aves redirects here. ... Families Accipitridae Pandionidae Falconidae Sagittariidae The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. ... Genera Daptrius Phalcoboenus Polyborus Milvago Herpetotheres Micrastur Spiziapteryx Polihierax Microhierax Falco The family Falconidae includes about 60 species of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. ... Genera Daptrius Phalcoboenus Polyborus Milvago Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. ... Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot (May 10, 1748 - 1831) was a French ornithologist. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... John Frederick Miller (1759 - 1796) was an English illustrator, mainly of botanical subjects. ... In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ...

The Crested Caracara, Polyborus plancus (or Caracara cheriway according to the AOU), is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is the only living member of the genus Polyborus, following the extinction of the Guadalupe Caracara. Unlike the Falco falcons in the same family, the caracaras are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are rather sluggish and often scavengers. The American Ornithologists Union (AOU) is the oldest and largest organization in the New World devoted to the scientific study of birds. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... Genera Daptrius Phalcoboenus Polyborus Milvago Herpetotheres Micrastur Spiziapteryx Polihierax Microhierax Falco The family Falconidae includes about 60 species of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Polyborus lutosus (Ridgway, 1876) The Guadalupe Caracara (Polyborus lutosus) is an extinct member of the raptor family of birds. ... Genera Daptrius Phalcoboenus Polyborus Milvago Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. ... Harvestman eating the tail of a five-lined skink The word scavenger, in zoology, refers to animals that consume already dead organic life-forms. ...

The Crested Caracara is a resident breeder in most of South and Central America, just reaching the southernmost parts of the USA, including Florida, where it is resident but listed as threatened. South of the US border, it is a commonly seen large raptor and is at times referred to as the "Mexican Eagle". South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Map of Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... Threatened species refers to animal and plant species under a serious, but perhaps not imminent, threat of extinction. ...

This is a bird of open country, which nests in a tree or on the ground, laying 2 to 4 eggs. It is 58 cm (23 in) long with a 125 cm (4 ft) wingspan. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ...

The Crested Caracara is broad-winged and long-tailed. It also has long legs and frequently walks and runs on the ground. It is very cross-shaped in flight. The adult has a black body, wings, crest and crown. The neck, rump, and conspicuous wing patches are white, and the tail is white with black barring and a broad terminal band. The breast is white, finely barred with black. The bill is thick, grey and hooked, and the cere is red. This species has bare skin around the eye that can change color in seconds. Sexes are similar, but immature birds have a brown back, buff neck and throat, and pale breast streaked with brown. The voice of this species is a low rattle. Image File history File links Greifvogel. ... Image File history File links Greifvogel. ... A cere is a fleshy, often waxy area above a birds beak. ...

The Crested Caracara is omnivorous, and will eat reptiles, amphibians and other small animals as well as carrion. Pigs are omnivores. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... An American Black Vulture feeding on squirrel carrion For other uses, see Carrion (disambiguation). ...

Subspecies

• Polyborus plancus plancus
• Polyborus plancus grinnelli (extinct)
• Polyborus plancus prelutosus (extinct)

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Caracara cheriway. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 08 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Polyborus plancus

• eNature.com page with photograph and sound