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Black Caracara - BirdForum Opus

Adult
Photo © by Anselmo d Affonseca
Manaus, Brazil, 23 March 2014

Alternative name: Yellow-throated Caracara

Daptrius ater

Identification

41–47 cm (16-18½ in)
Adult

  • Glossy black overall plumage
  • White rump and tail base
  • Red-orange facial skin with yellow throat.

Juvenile is similar but has yellow facial skin.

Similar Species

Red-throated Caracara has a white abdomen.

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Rio Marañon, Nauta Creek, Nauta, Loreto, Peru, 14 June 2019

South America: breeds from southern and eastern Colombia, eastern Venezuela and the Guianas, through Amazonian Brazil to east Ecuador, eastern Peru and northern Bolivia. Resident.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Forest and forest edge up to 300m, open grassland with scattered trees, secondary-growth woodland, along rivers and in mangrove swamps.

Behaviour

Diet

These birds will eat almost anything from carrion to insects, frogs and fruit. They are reported to sometimes pick ticks off mammals such as tapir and deer.

Breeding

Smallish stick nest is usually placed in the crowns of trees or the top of palms. Clutch consists of 2 - 3 white eggs suffused with reddish-brown pigments.

Vocalisation

Call: a piercing scream.

Movements

Presumed sedentary.

References

Photo © by Stanley Jones
Manu Lodge, Río Madre de Dios, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, 13 September 2018
  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. BirdForum Member observations
  3. Bierregaard, R.O., Jr, Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2019). Black Caracara (Daptrius ater). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53187 on 9 July 2019).
  4. AvianWeb
  5. Black Caracara (Daptrius ater), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/blacar1
  6. Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Black Caracara Daptrius ater. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 9 Jul. 2019

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

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