Yellow-headed Caracara

The Yellow-headed Caracara, Milvago chimachima, is a medium-sized raptor with a distinctive creamy yellow head and neck. This bird of prey, belonging to the Falconidae family, exhibits a wingspan ranging from 74 to 95 cm and a body length of 40 to 45 cm. Males and females are similar in plumage, though females are slightly heavier, weighing between 307 to 364 grams, compared to the males' 277 to 335 grams.

Identification Tips

Adults of this species can be recognized by their buff to creamy yellowish-white heads, necks, and underparts, contrasted by a dark streak through the eyes. Their back and wings are a blackish brown, with a notable whitish patch at the base of the primaries visible in flight. The tail and uppertail coverts are buff with dusky bars and a distinct black band near the end. The bird's iris is a reddish-brown, encircled by bare bright yellow skin, and the legs and feet are a unique pea green. Immature birds have browner upperparts and streaked underparts.

Habitat

The Yellow-headed Caracara favors open landscapes with sparse trees, such as savannas with palms, ranchlands, pastures, gallery forests, and forest edges. It is typically found from sea level up to 1,000 meters, though it has been spotted as high as 2,500 meters in Colombia's Cauca River valley.

Distribution

This species is widespread, found from Nicaragua through Costa Rica and Panama, across every mainland South American country except Chile, and on the islands of Aruba, Trinidad, and Tobago. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in Bonaire and Curaçao.

Behaviour

The Yellow-headed Caracara is generally sedentary, though some individuals do wander, as indicated by records from northern Central America and various islands. It adapts well to human-altered landscapes, often colonizing cleared areas.

Song & Calls

During the breeding season and when competing for food, the Yellow-headed Caracara becomes quite vocal. Its calls include a scratchy wailing "keeeah" or a prolonged "keeeeeeeee," often repeated. Other vocalizations are a growling "kraaa-kraaa-kraaa," a piercing "chay," and a thin hissing whistle "ksyeh, ksyeh."

Breeding

The nesting season varies by location, with nests typically built high in trees or palms, but also in tree cavities or even on the ground. Clutch sizes range from one to four eggs, with an incubation period of about 22 days. Fledging occurs 17 to 20 days post-hatch, with young dependent on their parents for an additional three weeks.

Diet and Feeding

An omnivorous scavenger, the Yellow-headed Caracara's diet includes carrion, insects, crabs, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, bird eggs, nestlings, fruits, and seeds. It often forages on the ground but also hunts on the wing, and is known to pick ticks off large mammals.

Conservation status

The IUCN has classified the Yellow-headed Caracara as Least Concern. With an estimated population of over five million mature individuals and a range that is expanding as forests are converted to ranches or farms, there are currently no immediate threats to its survival.