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Yellow-headed Caracara,juvenile

Thanks for the visits, faves and comments its greatly appreciated.

Oleta river park

Lifer

 

 

I post this bird before as a Merlin not 100% ID and receive correction from friends

Credit for bird ID is for Alex Lamoreaux and Smith

This is first siting of this bird in our area .

 

Yellow-headed Caracara

Milvago chimachima

 

Falconiforme Order – Falconidae Family

 

BIOMETRICS:

Length : 40-46 cm

Wingspan : 75 cm

Weight : M : 280-330 g – F : 310-360 g

 

DESCRIPTION:

A fairly small bird of prey commonly seen sitting on the back of cattle or other mammals and taking ticks from them.

 

Yellow-headed Caracara has dark brown to blackish upperparts. Back and wings are blackish brown. Long wings show large whitish patch at base of outer primaries, very conspicuous in flight.

Buff tail is fairly long and rounded. Uppertail coverts are buff with numerous narrow wavy dusky bars, broad blackish subterminal bar and fine whitish terminal band.

 

Underparts are pale buff to creamy-white. Underwing shows buffy to creamy-white coverts and blackish-brown flight feathers. Undertail has similar pattern as uppertail.

 

Head and neck are pale buff to creamy-white, with blackish stripe behind the eye. Lores, base of the bill and eye-ring are bare and yellow, but sometimes they are paler.

Hooked strong bill is horn-coloured. Eyes are reddish-brown. Legs and feet are pale greenish-grey.

 

Both sexes are similar, with female slightly larger than male.

 

RANGE:

Yellow-headed Caracara is resident in South America, from Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and southwards to northern Argentina. Also found in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Juvenile is dark brown on the upperparts. Head is dark brown. Underparts are buff, heavily spotted with dull brown. Lower belly is pale buff. Underwing is pale buff, barred and spotted brown. Tail is pale buff with narrower dark brown bars than in adults.

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Uploaded on March 16, 2023
Taken on January 7, 2023