Crested caracara / Common caracara ( Caracara plancus )
Crested caracara / Common caracara - Crested caracara / Common caracara information - Crested caracara / Common caracara facts
The Crested caracara also known as The Common caracara can be found in Central America and across South America down to Tierra del Fuego and The Falkland Islands. There it inhabits prairies and dried areas. It is a bird of prey and its diet varies a lot. Caracara plancus is basically a meat-eater. Its daily menu ranges from carrion, rodents, invertebrates and newborn lambs to seabirds and fish. Generally speaking its diet depends on the area they live in.
Its size is about 59 cm (23 inches) while its wingspan is approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet) long. In spite of this wide wingspan this predatory bird prefers spending its time on the ground to flying. It can run rather fast thank to its long legs. The Crested caracara has got a black cap, whitish face, throat and a chest. Its bill is reddish at the base and there is a dark band at the tip of its tail. Its body is relatively blackish however young birds tend to have brownish plumage. The females are similar to the males, but are a wee bit larger.
Cancara plancus lives in a nest, which is made of twigs and grass and situated off the ground. They lay up to three eggs, which are white with brown markings and the incubation period lasts about thirty days.
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